Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts
by Star Tours Traveler
Summary: Sora embarks on a mission to reconnect with the people who were separated years ago. Spoilers for all KH games, especially Birth by Sleep. Several parings but no slash. Full Summary inside.
1. Darkness

**Summary:** Sora embarks on a mission to reconnect with the people who were separated years ago. Spoilers for all KH games, especially Birth by Sleep. Several parings but no slash.

**Summary (Full): **Sora embarks on a mission to reconnect with the people who were separated years ago. But in order to do so, he'll need the help of Aqua, one of the lost souls and the last Keyblade Master. They must try to work together in order to fully restore those who were lost. Spoilers for all KH games, especially Birth by Sleep. Several parings but no slash.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. Everything is owned by either Disney and/or Square Enix. Also this is a musical. Disclaimers for music will be at the end of the chapters they appear in.

**Pairings: **(Romantic) Sora/Kairi, Aqua/Ven, Implied Roxas/Namine, (Friendships) Sora/Aqua, Sora/Riku, Kairi/Riku, Ven/Terra, Aqua/Terra, and Roxas/Axel.

**A/N: **I've been mulling over what I believe the inevitable final chapter of the Kingdom Hearts saga will be like, so I'm putting it to paper as a story. I've done this before, fans of the Reunion Series will notice that I wrote what I guessed what the games, 358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep, would be like. Those were fun to write, but now that we all know the truth of 358/2 Days, and the truth has semi-recently been revealed for Birth by Sleep, so here's my guess for "Reconnect, Kingdom Hearts."** Note: **This is **NOT** a sequel to Reunion. It is a stand alone.

Be forewarned, I have a tendency to add music lyrics (albeit slightly altered lyrics) to my stories. When one appears, I'll list the name of the song and what it's from when the music is supposed to start, so that you can YouTube it (Or cue it up on your computer/iPod/etc if you have it) and get a good idea of how it sounds. I also would advise letting the music play in the back ground as you follow along with the lyrics and mentally substitute any changed words when they appear.

* * *

**Alone…**

That's what he was.

He was all alone.

A young Keyblade wielder with spiky light brown hair, drifting on a simple wooden raft in the middle of the ocean. He looked over his shoulder and all he saw was just more ocean. He looked ahead. More ocean and the setting sun. He looked down at his hand and saw the lucky charm given to him by Kairi before he left the Destiny Islands.

"I have to do this." Sora said to himself. In his heart, he felt that this was right.

"I have to help those people." Sora said as he stretched and yawned. He was tired and it was getting late. He leaned against the lone mast of the raft and rested his hands behind his head. He had no gummy ship, it had been left at Twilight Town prior to the final battle with Xemnas and Organization XIII. It had then been recovered by King Mickey shortly after that.

"The edge of the world has to be around here somewhere." Sora said mid yawn. He then shut his eyes, his mind starting to drift back to what had happened only hours earlier.

* * *

**Earlier on the Destiny Islands…**

Tidus and Wakka were going at it in a game of Blitzball. They had managed to recruit Vaan and Penelo, two other kids from the main island, to join in the fun. Selphie stood on the sand with Kairi, watching the four playing in the water. Riku was watching from the wooden railing nearby, but he couldn't help but notice a certain spiky haired boy sitting on the sideways tree, staring out over the ocean, lost in his thoughts. With a sigh, Riku leapt over the railing and started heading over to his friend.

He knew what was going on, only a day or so ago; they had received a message in a bottle from King Mickey, telling them about something that they couldn't believe. Sora was apparently the only hope of saving three lost souls. Three people who had each suffered a horrible fate due to the actions of Xehanort. Sora had been mulling over this new knowledge carefully in his mind for a while and Riku could tell in his heart that Sora had made his decision. Kairi seemed to notice this too as she watched Riku approaching his friend.

"Sora." Riku said, causing the boy to turn towards him.

"Riku." Sora said as Riku walked up to look out over the water, stopping at the edge of the small island.

"Have you decided?" Riku asked, not looking at the young Keyblade wielder. Sora turned back to looking over the water.

"Yeah." He replied with a cleansing breath. In his hands were an empty glass bottle and a rolled up piece of paper with the king's seal on it. Neither of them noticed as Kairi approached them.

"Sora." She said, causing the two to turn towards her.

"Kairi." Sora said, leaping off the tree and to his feet.

"I…" He said, looking for a way to explain it but failing, looking at his feet.

"Yeah." Kairi replied. She knew what was happening. This surprised Sora, causing him to look at her in surprise for a moment before smiling at her and started approaching her.

"There are still sad people, and everyone's waiting. I have to put back everything that's connected to me." Sora said. Riku gave a small smirk. Kairi smiled, a hint of a tear in her eyes as she sighed slightly. She then reached for his hand and placed her lucky charm in it.

"Hurry back." Kairi said as she closed his fingers around the charm.

* * *

**Presently…**

Sora took one last glance at the charm before putting it in his pocket. He looked up as the sky started to darken and the light of the stars started to appear in the beautiful night sky. He felt himself getting tired, the motion of the waves gently rocking the raft. He yawned again and leaned against the mast again before closing his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

"His heart is stirring."

"You still hold out hope do you?"

"I told you once before. I'm not giving up."

"And I have told you several times before. I've already won."

"You haven't won as long as I exist."

"None can withstand my might, and you know that more than anyone."

"If you were truly powerful, you would have destroyed me already."

"I have use for you, which is why you are not extinguished."

"I almost pity you for your arrogance. That's what he is; he is what will restore and maintain the balance."

"Balance. Balance is nothing compared to everlasting darkness."

"So says he who doesn't realize his plans stand a good chance of crumbling, all because of one boy."

"He is alone, with no one to aid him. He will fall into darkness and remained trapped for good along with his heart. And we both know what will happen if his heart falls into darkness. Not one but two hearts will be lost and all of that optimism within you will have been for naught."

"You truly believe that you're going to win huh?"

"Oh quite so. The boy isn't even a true Master of the Keyblade. I will crush him easily."

"And how do you explain the Heartless and the Nobody he slew? He's defeated both and masterfully so. Granted he lacks the guidance of a true master and he could stand to learn a thing or two. Was he to meet a true master…then you're plans will undoubtedly crumble."

"But there are no masters left to teach him. They're either dead or gone, as are your hopes of finally being rid of me."

"Then by all means, send him into darkness now and get it over with."

"Gladly."

* * *

**Back on the raft…**

Sora was awoken by a loud roaring sound. He looked around to see that the sky was still filled with stars. He looked at the water which was starting to move faster around him, all in one direction. He looked straight ahead and saw a spot close on the horizon where the water just disappeared. He immediately realized what it was, a waterfall off the edge of the world, leading into a black abyss below.

Sora quickly turned the sail on the mast around away from the waterfall but it was no use. The currents were too strong and the raft kept being pulled towards the edge, dragging Sora along with it.

"Come on glide, don't fail me now!" Sora exclaimed as he double jumped into the air and started to try and glide away from the waterfall. Much to his relief, he managed to start gliding. But much to his horror, he was inexplicably floating slowly backwards towards the edge. He looked over his shoulder and saw the raft plunge into the abyss. He looked ahead to see the water start to churn. He then saw a Darkside Heartless appear from the churning water. Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade but the monster reared back its hand and then swung at the young Keybearer. Sora successfully dodged but that was enough. The dodge caused him to accidently turn towards the edge.

He lost control of his glide and immediately fell into the water and over the edge into the endless darkness below.

* * *

"All too easy."

"So it would seem."

"Are you ready to capitulate now?"

"Not quite. I'm still not convinced that he's out of the game."

"You are an optimist aren't you."

"I know light when I see it, and I still see his light…and the light of another."

"Your senses fail you. He is trapped, alone, within darkness."

"He may be in darkness. But he's not trapped…and certainly not alone."

"Foolish boy. You just don't know when to quit."

"You'll see. You haven't defeated him. Sending him into darkness will only end up making him even stronger."

"Darkness always makes one stronger, for darkness is strength."

"You misunderstand me. I did not mean that he would gain strength from darkness, but he would instead find strength from the light hidden within the darkness."

"You are delusional."

"Then I shall not waste my breath on you anymore. If you want to talk again later however, I'll be the one with the smug grin on his face."

* * *

**Somewhere…**

It was cold and dark. He could hear the sound of waves gently lapping against the shore. He was laying face down on the dark sand and black rock covered beach. He pushed himself up to see the light of a single moon reflecting over the water's surface. Large craggy rocks hanging menacingly over the water only added to the effect of the world's dark existence. He looked around and he knew where he was. He had been there once before, with Riku, shortly after defeating Xemnas.

The Realm of Darkness.

He rolled over onto his back and sat up, looking out at the water.

"How did I end up here?" he asked. He looked around and saw no one, but that was partly due to the large black rocks surrounding him. He did however hear the familiar sound of footsteps in the wet sand. They sounded like they were getting closer. He climbed to his feet and looked around again. This time however he promptly came eye to eye with a pair of sparkling blue eyes. He yelped as he jumped back slightly, getting a better look at who he was looking at.

The person was wearing a black and blue, high-collared halter top, two pink, intersecting belts over its chest, and black shorts. It had an odd silver badge on their chest. On its arms are white bell-sleeves and tan, fingerless gloves. It was also wearing what appeared to be black stockings or socks on its legs which reached to about halfway up its thighs, leaving a small area of bare skin on its upper thighs. It also bore two strips of blue cloth that drape over either side of the hips, along with a smaller, white strip of cloth tied around its waist, draped in the same manner. It wore pointed, armored, silver boots with a sharp "hook" on the outer side of each. More importantly, this person was a late teenage looking girl as evidenced by her short blue hair and obviously moderate to large sized breasts.

"W-who are you?!" Sora asked as the girl stared at him in silent curiosity for a moment.

"You're real, aren't you?" the girl asked as Sora blinked, confused at the question.

"Yeah. I just got here though. But you never answered my question." Sora said as the girl turned away slightly.

"It won't make a difference who I am. I've been wandering around this world for a long time with no foreseeable escape in sight." The girl replied. Sora looked at her curiously, almost as if he recognized her somehow.

"Have we met? I feel like we've met before." Sora said as the girl sat down on the sand, facing the shore.

"We have never met. You do remind me of a boy I once met though. But that feels like it was so long ago." The girl said as Sora sat down next to her.

"Well, I know one thing's for certain. If I'm here, there's no way I can do what I'm supposed to do. I need to find those people and reconnect with them. I know it in my heart." Sora said as he reached into his pocket and pulled Kairi's charm out, running his thumb over it gently. The girl glanced at him for a moment then her eyes suddenly widened as she spotted the charm.

"Wait…that charm…where did you get that charm?!" She asked as Sora held it closer for her to look at it.

"A close friend of mine gave it to me. I promised that I would never lose it. She said that it would protect me and bring me luck." Sora replied as the girl gazed at it in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked worriedly. The girl looked at him in surprise before reaching up her sleeve and pulling out a small blue star shaped charm of her own.

"Where did you get that charm?!" Sora asked surprised as he saw the charm.

"I made this one. It's one of a set of three. They're each made of Paopu Fruit skin. The very fact that you have a charm so similar to this one-…" the girl said, letting her sentence drop off before she looked Sora straight in the eyes.

"Is it really you? Are you…him? The boy with the Keyblade that's been keeping the worlds safe?" the girl asked hopefully as Sora looked at her worriedly.

"I've been trying to keep things normal…and I think I've succeeded. I defeated a very powerful Heartless and then the Nobody of that Heartless just recently. So the worlds should be safe now." Sora replied as the girl looked at him in silent curiosity for a moment before a smile spread across her face.

"You are the one. I knew that one day you would come." The girl said as Sora looked at her confused.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked as the girl stood up.

"It's a very long story. One that's almost as old as you are Sora." The girl said, causing Sora to leap back in surprise at the mention of his name.

"How do you know my name?! I don't remember telling it to you." Sora said as the girl smiled and a joyful tear ran down her cheek.

"I knew it already. A stranger told me recently that he had encountered a young boy with a Keyblade that had been restoring many of the worlds out there. At first I thought it was one of my old friends from before, but when I asked for the boy's name, the stranger only shook his head and told me that the boy's name…the one who was destined to restore balance to the worlds…was Sora." The girl said as Sora looked intrigued.

"Who was this guy? Can I meet him?" Sora asked as the girl shrugged.

"I don't know who he is, where he's from, or where he's gone now. He vanished into the dark recesses of this world. It's not hard to do. Nothing in this world is as it seems. It may look familiar but you are always in a different place. It's like an endless maze." The girl explained as Sora's heart sank.

"Oh. Well any ideas on how to get out of here?" Sora asked as the girl sighed.

"None. I've been trapped here for what seems like only a few hours, but I understand that time flows differently here. A matter of hours here is probably a few years in the other worlds. Regardless of how time flows, I've been unable to escape. I can't find any sort of secret passages or any methods of travel. I dare not risk trying to swim in the water." The girl replied.

"Well then let's go looking for a way out together. I remember someone telling me once that Light is easy to find. I believe that this case isn't going to be any different." Sora said with an assuring smile as the girl looked at him curiously for a moment before smiling.

"Are you always this optimistic?" the girl asked as Sora shrugged.

"Pretty much." Sora replied. He then looked at Kairi's lucky charm and pressed it to his chest thoughtfully. The girl was about to place her charm back into her sleeve when it suddenly started to twinkle with light.

"Huh?" She asked confused. She looked over at Sora and saw that the other charm was also starting to twinkle.

"Sora! Sora look!" She exclaimed as Sora looked at the charms. All of a sudden the twinkling lights started to appear in the air around the charms, leaving small trails of light as the two streams of light started to move towards each other. Finally both streams merged and started moving at lightning fast speeds towards the moon. Without warning a blinding rectangle of pure white light appeared in midair, appearing as if a door was opening.

"Is that-?" the girl asked as Sora grinned excitedly. (Music Cue: Hikari (Simple & Clean) Orchestral Version - Utada Hikaru)

"The Door to Light! It's showing us the way out!" Sora said as a look of absolute relief swept over the girl's face.

"I don't believe it." She said breathlessly. She turned to look down at Sora who looked back up at her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Sora said as the girl smiled and nodded.

"I think I should answer your question, Sora." The girl said as Sora looked at her confused.

"What question?" he asked back.

"My name…my name is Aqua." The girl replied as she extended her hand to him. Sora smiled and took her by the hand before turning towards the Door to Light. They both took a deep breath before walking towards the light which quickly grew to envelope them within its beams of crisp white light.

**

* * *

****Star Tours Traveler Presents…**

…**A Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction…**

**…****Inspired by the Kingdom Hearts Franchise created and owned by Square Enix and the Walt Disney Company…**

"_**Reconnect, Kingdom Hearts."  
**_

**

* * *

**

**End Chapter 1.**

**Please R&R.**

Disclaimer: Vaan & Penelo are from Final Fantasy XII and as such, I do not own them.


	2. Master & Apprentice

In a bright flash of light, Sora and Aqua found themselves standing on a single island floating in the middle of a strange yet colorful sea of energy. The ground beneath them was soft green grass. Sora and Aqua both looked around in awe of the place.

"Light. It feels so…refreshing to feel it again." Aqua said as she hugged herself in pure bliss of the feeling.

"I know. Light is always a great thing to feel." Sora said with a nod before Aqua turned towards him.

"I can't even begin to thank you for freeing me from that place. I feel like I owe you." Aqua said as Sora smiled and shook his head.

"Not at all. It was my pleasure to help. Besides, I feel like we've actually met before, and that helping you was like returning a favor or something." Sora said as Aqua looked at him curiously but with a smile on her face.

"I suspect that we might have met before. You do seem a bit more familiar as well now that I can see you in a better light." Aqua said as Sora smiled.

"So what are you going to do now?" Sora asked.

"Well, I figure I've got a lot of work to do. I need to work on finding a couple of old friends of mine. I know where one is but I don't know where the other one is or what's become of him. Oh but wait, I can't do anything. I have no way of leaving this world." Aqua said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"When I fell into Darkness, it was because I was trying to save someone from the same fate. I sacrificed my power so that my friend would survive and not fall into the darkness either. I don't know if I can even reclaim my old power back or not. So until I find some way to fight, I won't be of any use to anyone." Aqua said. Sora paused for a moment in thought before a thought occurred to him.

"Oh I know, maybe I could protect you. Then we could look together. I'm trying to find someone too so maybe we can find all the people we're looking for." Sora said earning a curious look from Aqua.

"You would be willing to protect me on both our quests? I'm honored. If only I had my old strength back, I might be of more help." Aqua said as Sora smiled up at her.

"Don't worry. I've been on my own before, and I can take care of us both." Sora said as Aqua smiled back.

"You're a brave boy, Sora. But I can't let you protect me all the time. I've got to find some way of helping you out. You did bust me out of the Realm of Darkness after all." Aqua replied as they both turned inland, away from the colored sea.

"Then let's start looking for a way to-…huh?" Sora asked in surprise as they beheld a single tall tower sitting on the surprisingly small island. The tower was made of gray stone bricks and the very top of the tower was a blue cone with white moon and star shaped windows all over it. Sora, and surprisingly Aqua, recognized the tower immediately.

"Wait! I know this place! That powerful Sorcerer lives here!" Aqua exclaimed. Sora looked at her in surprise.

"You know about this place too?!" Sora asked, earning an equally surprised look from Aqua.

"You know about it? Then you must know who lives here! Yen Sid, the mightiest sorcerer alive!" Aqua explained as Sora nodded.

"I know, I've met him before. He helped me out on my adventure before." Sora said as Aqua looked up at the tower with an expression of hope.

"Then let's go see if he's here. Maybe he'll be able to point both of us in the right directions." Aqua said as they approached the castle. They were unaware that the mighty sorcerer himself was watching them from through his window. After the dizzying climb up the stairs, Sora and Aqua were beat. Sora reared back his hand to knock on the door but it slowly creaked open on its own.

"Welcome. I have been expecting the both of you." Yen Sid said stoically, his back turned to them as he stood peering out the window behind his desk. Sora and Aqua silently and nervously approached his desk. Aqua then cleared her throat.

"I'm not sure if you remember me sir, my name is-." "I know who you are, Aqua, and I am pleased to see that you have survived these eleven years within the Realm of Darkness." Yen Sid said, still facing away from her.

"Thank you. I'm glad tha-…did you say eleven years? That I've been gone eleven years?!" Aqua asked with an expression of shock and horror. Sora was almost as surprised.

"Time flows differently between worlds. Not all worlds are the same. Much has changed since you disappeared Aqua, but rest assured that your return was not unforeseen. We all knew that you would come back." Yen Sid said as Aqua looked heartbroken.

"Then…what of-." "Your friends? They still survive. One still sleeps but his heart lives on…but the other…he is harder to see. He is almost exactly the same as when you last saw him. You know what I am referring too." Yen Sid said as tears again filled Aqua's eyes but this time they were tears of sadness. She dropped to her knees in anguish. Sora placed his hand on her shoulder, comfortingly.

"These are not the things you wanted to hear upon your return, but there is hope. For the heart of your friend, stands next to you right now." Yen Sid said, causing Aqua to stop crying and look up at the sorcerer confused. She then looked at Sora with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked. Yen Sid finally turned towards them and approached his desk.

"Sora…look deep within yourself and you will find a memory buried deep within your mind that could never be tampered with." Yen Sid instructed as Sora looked confused for a moment yet complied. Aqua looked at him curiously. Then for a brief moment she saw it. Sora's entire form seemed to vanish and be replaced by that of a young blond haired boy with spiky hair.

"Ven." Aqua said breathlessly as the image of the boy faded, revealing Sora still standing exactly where he had been.

"Now your eyes have been opened." Yen Sid said as Aqua looked at a now hopelessly lost Sora.

"Aqua, what just happened?" Sora asked.

"Sora…I don't know how, but you somehow have the heart of one of my friends within your own." Aqua said as Sora blinked.

"It is true Sora. It is only one reason why you are able to wield the Keyblade. You possess the heart of another within your own heart." Yen Sid said as Sora blinked again.

"What?! Whose heart?!" Sora asked as he put his hands to his chest.

"His name is Ventus. I used to call him Ven. He lost his heart a long time ago…but, it still only seems like yesterday." Aqua said with a sigh.

"I guess that's why I feel like we've met before. We may or may not have actually met physically but our hearts have. So that's why I recognized you." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Our paths were meant to cross, Sora. You are the key to restoring everything to the way things were." Aqua said as Yen Sid nodded.

"Indeed. But your paths crossed for another reason." Yen Sid said, regaining both their attention.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Sora, your skills with the Keyblade, while formidable, are not strong enough to defeat a true master of the Keyblade. In order to defeat a master, you must be taught by a master." Yen Sid said as Aqua sighed.

"But Master Yen Sid, the last master alive was Master Eraqus and he died eleven years ago." Aqua said as Yen Sid nodded in agreement.

"You are only half correct. While master Eraqus did indeed perish eleven years ago, he did however successfully train at least one Keyblade Master. I believe you know of whom I speak." Yen Sid said as Aqua's eyes widened in realization.

"You don't mean…" Aqua said as she gulped hard.

"I do indeed." Yen Sid said before turning to Sora.

"Sora, did you know that Aqua is the last true Keyblade Master?" Yen Sid asked as Sora's eyes widened.

"What?! Aqua is this true?! Are you really a Keyblade Master?!" Sora asked as Aqua sighed.

"I…was." Aqua replied.

"Then…couldn't you use your Keyblade and escape from the Realm of Darkness on your own?" Sora asked as Aqua shook her head.

"I couldn't. Remember, I told you earlier that I had been forced to sacrifice my power in order to save my friend? Well that power was my power to wield a Keyblade. I lost my Keyblade a long time ago and I don't even know if I can regain it again." Aqua said sadly.

"You can indeed reclaim your strength." Yen Sid said, earning a surprised look from the two.

"I can?!" Aqua asked hopefully.

"Indeed. You must travel to Radiant Garden and search the deepest and darkest confines of the Castle that once belonged to Ansem the Wise. There you will find the embodiment of your power, waiting for you, its master, to reclaim it. Once it has been reclaimed, it will be yours to command once again." Yen Sid explained as Aqua and Sora both beamed excitedly. Aqua quickly leapt to her feet.

"Then that means…" Aqua said thoughtfully before she turned to Sora, "…That means you and I are definitely going to have to stick together."

"But what about our quests to connect with the people we're supposed to find?" Sora asked.

"You do not realize it Sora, but your two quests are the same. Aqua is one of the three people you needed to find. Ven is another one of them but his body has been hidden away, separated from you, the vessel for his Heart. His Heart is safe within you but it will remain there until it has awakened." Yen Sid explained.

"You mean Ven's heart can't be removed from him yet?" Aqua asked, confused.

"His heart must be awakened first, and the only way to do that is for Sora to become a true Keyblade Master, and you are the only one who can ensure that he does so." Yen Sid said as Aqua and Sora exchanged unsure looks.

"I guess I have no choice then Sora. Will you allow me to teach you to become a Keyblade Master?" Aqua asked as Sora smiled and nodded.

"You bet. We can search for Ven's body and the third guy while we're at it." Sora said as Aqua smiled slightly and nodded.

"Alright then. Well…we best not keep you much longer Master Yen Sid. But…how do we reach Radiant Garden from here? A Keyblade Rider's only supposed to support one person, and one person alone." Aqua said, causing Sora to look at her confused.

"What's a Keyblade Rider?" Sora asked.

"You don't even know what a Keyblade Rider is? Boy you do need a master. How have you been getting around from world to world all this time?" Aqua asked confused.

"Easy. I've been using a Gummy Ship the entire time. Although I kinda lost the one I had before I defeated Xemnas." Sora said, causing Aqua to arch an eyebrow.

"What's a gummy ship? And who's Xemnas?" Aqua asked.

"I'll explain it all to you, don't worry." Sora said as Yen Sid cleared his throat.

"I shall transport you to Radiant Garden, but first I must give the two of you a word of warning." Yen Sid causing Sora and Aqua to pause with worried expressions.

"A warning?" Sora asked.

"What kind of warning?" Aqua asked.

"The second you returned to these worlds Aqua, I sensed a sudden stirring in the darkness. It is probably safe to assume that the darkness is aware of the sudden reemergence of a Keyblade Master. If not, we must still face the possibility that the darkness will sense Ven's awakening heart and attempt to take it. Sora has encountered beings of darkness known as the Heartless and has successfully battled them on numerous occasions. Trust his judgment when dealing with these creatures." Yen Sid explained.

"So what about the Nobodies?" Sora asked. Aqua looked at Yen Sid confused.

"Nobodies?" She asked.

"The Nobodies are the empty shells of those who have lost their hearts. Consider them the opposite of the Heartless but they are neither light nor dark. Upon their defeat however they do fade into darkness. Sora has encountered these creatures as well and defeated them also. However they are not gone. There are a few left, still lingering in worlds that rest between light and darkness. I foresee that you will undoubtedly encounter Nobodies on your quest. Once again, you should trust Sora's judgment when dealing with them." Yen Sid explained.

"Heartless? Nobodies? They sound an awful lot like the Unversed." Aqua said, earning a confused look from Sora.

"Who are they?" Sora asked.

"The Unversed were beings of darkness. They were the precursors to the Heartless. Fortunately, they are now widely extinct since they came from half of a single person's heart. However I fear that if Ven's heart begins to awaken, that the Unversed will make a return. If you encounter them Sora, you should rely on Aqua's guidance to defeat them." Yen Sid explained.

"Sounds like we've got some things to learn from each other huh Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. A lot has changed in the time you've been gone, and you're going to need someone to help you adjust to the changes. I think that's another reason we were supposed to meet." Sora said with a smile.

"The relationship between Master and Apprentice is like the two sides of the same coin. It is not just the apprentice learning from the master, but also the master learning from the apprentice. From learning the simplest of things to learning life changing secrets, both should benefit from each other's experiences and acquired wisdom." Yen Sid explained as Sora and Aqua nodded.

"Then I guess we should probably get going to Radiant Garden. I'm eager to see that place again." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"Yeah, let's go…Master Aqua." Sora said as Aqua giggled.

"No need to be formal with me Sora. Aqua is just fine." Aqua replied as they turned back towards Yen Sid.

"We're ready to go Master Yen Sid." Aqua said as she and Sora joined hands.

"Very well." Yen Sid said as his conical blue hat with white moon and star shapes started to glow with a blue aura. He then thrust his hands out to his sides and in a great burst of light the two vanished, leaving the mighty sorcerer alone in his tower.

* * *

"Still think I'm delusional?"

"Yes."

"You are so full of it."

"Same could be said about you."

"I suppose so."

"I also thought that we were not on speaking terms anymore."

"Who else am I going to talk to?"

"You annoy me."

"Good, at least I'm still something you despise."

"You never stopped being something that I despised. You've always annoyed me."

"Well then, score one for me."

"Oh shut up you blathering fool."

"You first."

(Sigh) "Why?"

"Because you're an idiot."

"I WAS TALKING TO MYSELF!"

"…and you're losing it."

(Exasperated sigh)

* * *

**In Radiant Garden…**

In a bright flash of light, Sora and Aqua appeared within the Radiant Garden marketplace, facing towards the castle.

"Wait, where are we? Master Yen Sid, you sent us to the wrong place! You've sent us to some sort of…Hollow Bastion and not Radiant Garden!" Aqua yelled into the sky.

"Um, I hate to break it to you but…this is Radiant Garden." Sora said as he pointed towards the Castle. Aqua looked at it for a moment then in a flash, she saw a brief vision of the town's former glory compared to the semi-dismal wreckage that remained.

"Oh my…what happened to this place Sora?" Aqua asked.

"The Heartless happened. This place was consumed by the Heartless and plunged into darkness. It was one of the first worlds to fall." Sora explained.

"And why didn't anyone try to stop the Heartless? Where were you that whole time?" Aqua asked.

"It happened almost ten years ago." A voice from behind them said. Sora and Aqua spun around to see Aerith with a basket of flowers hanging from her arm.

"Aerith! It's good to see you again." Sora exclaimed with a smile as Aerith smiled back at him.

"It's good to see you again too Sora. Who's your friend?" Aerith asked, looking at Aqua.

"I'm Aqua." Aqua replied.

"She's my new Master." Sora said, earning a confused look from Aerith.

"Ah, he means that he's my apprentice. I'm training him to become a Keyblade Master." Aqua said as Aerith smiled and nodded understandingly.

"Oh I see. Is this your first time in Radiant Garden?" Aerith asked.

"Oh no. I've been here before. It's been eleven years since I've been here though and it didn't look anything like this. I remember when this place was much brighter and much cleaner." Aqua said, turning to look back towards the castle.

"Eleven years ago? That's interesting." Aerith said.

"She's probably older than she looks." Sora said, earning a glare from Aqua.

"Hey!" she groaned, with her hands on her hips.

"Uh, so how goes the restoration project?" Sora asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

"It's going great. We've hit a few snags though. Perhaps the two of you could help us out." Aerith said as Sora and Aqua exchanged looks.

"We'd be honored." Aqua replied.

"Great! Come on, we'll take you to our headquarters." Aerith said as the two started following after her.

* * *

**End Chapter 2.**

**Please R&R.**


	3. Radiant Garden

Aerith, Sora, and Aqua were walking through the marketplace on their way to the Restoration Committee's headquarters.

"So what's the heartless situation like these days?" Sora asked.

"Well they're still around but they're not as bad as they once were. We haven't seen any nobodies lately though. But the security system's been improved ever since we linked it up to Ansem's old computer. With Tron running it, its effectiveness has pretty much doubled. Well that's all according to Cid at least." Aerith explained.

"Wait, you mentioned Ansem. Do you mean Ansem the Wise? Huh, I'm surprised he let you use his computer." Aqua said as Aerith and Sora both gave her disheartened looks.

"I'm afraid that…Ansem's dead. He disappeared after Radiant Garden fell and briefly reappeared in an effort to try and transform Kingdom Hearts into data. He died when the machine he was using exploded." Aerith said as Aqua looked surprised.

"That's a shame. Wait what about his apprentices?" Aqua asked.

"We don't know for sure. From what we've been able to tell, they disappeared before the world fell into darkness. Though we have made some…disturbing discoveries when it comes to them and Organization XIII." Aerith said causing Sora to look at her curiously. Aqua was now hopelessly lost.

"Uh what is Organization XIII?" Aqua asked.

"You really have been gone a while haven't you?" Aerith asked back. Aqua shrugged helplessly.

"I don't suppose you and the Restoration Committee could help me explain to her what all has happened in the past eleven years?" Sora asked as Aerith nodded with a smile.

"Sure we could." Aerith said as they arrived outside Merlin's old house.

"Hey, we're at Merlin's." Sora said, catching Aqua by surprise.

"Merlin? As in the crazy old Wizard Merlin?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah, you know him?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I met him a few times here back in my day. Wow it sounds strange to say that." Aqua said as Sora laughed slightly.

"It does, doesn't it?" He replied.

"Unfortunately Merlin isn't here anymore." Aerith said, earning a surprised look from Sora.

"What?! Why?!" He asked.

"Well he still technically lives here. He told us a few days ago that he heard one of his favorite worlds had come back and he was going to go check on it and see if he could reconnect with some old friends of his. He told us that he was going to come back eventually but for now he said we could use the place as our headquarters. The whole gang should be in there right now." Aerith said as she opened the door.

"I'm back." Aerith called into the room. Leon was sitting at a desk on the far end of the room, looking at some papers while Cid sat hammering away at the keys on the computer. Yuffie and the small fairy Rikku were busy pestering the gummy ship builder while the fairies Yuna and Paine hovered in midair chatting. Curiously Tifa was also present, sitting on the pedestal in the center of the room and eating some sea salt ice cream.

"It's about time. Cid here was getting grouchier." Yuffie said, earning a glare from the gummy ship builder.

"Shut up ya yahoo. I don't need you hoppin' up and down yammerin' at me all the time. You're bad enough on your own so that little fairy gal isn't helpin' things much." Cid grumbled as the little fairy Rikku floated up.

"You rang?" Rikku asked playfully before Aerith cleared her throat.

"Guys, we have guests." Aerith said, catching everyone, including Leon's attention.

"Sora! Welcome back!" Yuffie exclaimed as she promptly glomped the Apprentice Keybearer.

"Good to see you guys too." Sora said as Yuffie let him go.

"Hey how ya doin' short fry? Tron's been askin' bout 'cha." Cid said as Sora shrugged.

"I've been okay. What about you guys?" Sora asked.

"Eh, same ol' same ol'." Cid replied.

"We feared the worst after we heard about what happened in the World that Never Was, Sora. But it's good to see you're alright." Leon said in his calm and stoic fashion.

"Come on Leon, you know Sora could beat anyone. He is the Keyblade Master after all." Yuffie said as Aqua cleared her throat.

"Uh, not really." She said, earning looks from everyone in the room.

"…and you are?" Paine asked, floating up very close to Aqua's face.

"I'm Aqua. Sora's my apprentice." Aqua replied.

"Apprentice?! Oh come on, Sora's a master!" Yuffie argued.

"No…he's not." Leon corrected.

"Oh and what makes you such an expert on Keyblades huh?" Rikku asked.

"We're not experts either Rikku. We can only guess at how powerful an actual master is." Yuna replied.

"So does this mean that you're a Keyblade Master?" Paine asked Aqua.

"Officially, yes. I passed my Masters Qualification Exam eleven years ago under the late Master Eraqus." Aqua answered.

"Eleven years ago? Impossible, you look far too young to be a master." Cid said as Aqua sighed.

"I've been trapped in the Realm of Darkness this whole time and time flows much differently there than in most of the other worlds. Master Yen Sid himself confirmed that, so unless you want to take it up with him-?" Aqua said causing Cid to back up.

"Whoa-ho, I ain't no fan of the ol' coot Merlin but I sure ain't gonna cross Yen Sid. I'll take your word for it." Cid said as he sat back down in his computer chair.

"So what brings you back here to Radiant Garden, Sora?" Tifa asked.

"Master Yen Sid sent us here. He said that we needed to-…hey wait a minute, weren't you with Cloud?" Sora asked as Tifa giggled slightly.

"Yeah I was. Don't worry he's fine. He's in another world with a couple friends of his and Leon's. He'll be fine as long as he has friends with him so I'm not as worried." Tifa explained.

"Glad to hear he's alright. Did he ever find his light?" Sora asked as Tifa sighed.

"Not that I can tell." Tifa replied.

"Oh come on, you know how easy it is to read what's going through Cloud's head. If you were able to read anything from his expression or not would be miraculous." Yuffie said sarcastically.

"Sora. You were saying that Master Yen Sid sent you here for something?" Leon asked, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Oh yeah. Um." Sora said, turning to Aqua curiously. He was hesitant about mentioning that she was powerless at the present time out of concern for her feelings but she simply smiled.

"We're looking for my Keyblade. I had to sacrifice it eleven years ago to save the life of a friend of mine from falling into darkness." Aqua explained. Leon seemed to understand.

"Any idea why it would be here?" Leon asked.

"Master Yen Sid told us to check in the deepest darkest places of Ansem's castle. He said that the 'embodiment' of my powers would be there waiting for me to return." Aqua replied.

"But before the two of you head there, Sora asked if we could help explain to her what all has happened in the eleven years since she's been gone." Aerith said as the committee looked at each other and shrugged and then voiced their agreement. A few minutes later, they had covered an abridged version of the first half of Sora's adventure and were just wrapping up on the second half.

"After that we returned to the islands through the Door to Light. Then a while later, the King sends us a message in a bottle, telling me that there are all these suffering people out there and that I need to reconnect with them all. And that's where we meet up in the Realm of Darkness." Sora finished explaining.

"I'm impressed Sora. You really seem to make friends easily." Aqua said with a sip of some tea that Aerith had brewed during the lengthy discussion.

"I like making friends. It's always good to go places and be liked and not called things like, riffraff, or street rat, or scoundrel. No that's my buddy Aladdin. He lives in Agrabah." Sora said as Aqua looked at him curiously.

"So you've faced all sorts of these bad guys huh? Heartless and Nobodies huh. You must be pretty well on your way to becoming a Master then. I wouldn't mind seeing you demonstrate your skills for me real quick though." Aqua said as Sora smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to." Sora said as he headed for the door with Aqua and the entire restoration committee behind him. They followed him to the old castle postern where the committee took seats situated around the large circular area. Leon stepped forward to try out Sora's skill.

"Okay, here's what I've figured out when it comes to fighting. I always need to let the Keyblade guide me and just follow its lead." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Very good Sora. What else?" She asked. (Music Cue: Aladdin: One Jump Ahead)

"Well…" Sora said as he turned to Leon and nodded before explaining as Leon started to attack…

_"Gotta keep,_  
_one jump ahead of the Shadow._  
_One swing ahead of the Dusk_  
_I fight only those I must…"_

"That's almost everyone." Sora said as he continued to dodge Leon's attacks.

_"One jump ahead of the Heartless_  
_that's all, and that's no joke_  
_those guys know their hearts are broke."_

Sora said as Aqua looked concerned.

_"Riffraff? Street rat? Scoundrel? Why that!"_

She asked as Sora shrugged.

_"Just a few old bad guys"_

He replied as Yuffie leaned in close to Aqua.

_"They'd rip him open, 'n' take his heart, guys"_

Yuffie said as Sora dodged another of Leon's attacks.

_"I can take a hint, gotta face the facts_  
_Lucky I've got friends like you!"_

Sora said as he turned to attack Leon. Aerith however chimed in.

_"But, our dear Sora's never hit the bottom._  
_He's become the one to rise and shine."_

Aerith added as Cid smirked.

_"I'd say brains 'cept he hasn't got 'em."_

Cid added, earning an indignant look from Sora and a chuckle from Aqua.

_"Gotta fight to live, gotta shine to fight_  
_tell you all about it when I got the time!"_

Sora said as Leon started coming at him again.

_"One jump ahead of the Dragoons_  
_One skip ahead of my doom_  
_Next time gonna use a Summon Rune_  
_One jump ahead of the Darkside_  
_One hit ahead of the flock_  
_I think I need to spin around and BLOCK!"_

Sora yelped as he blocked a particularly fierce blow from Leon. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine however floated up to Aqua.

_"He's not a thief, vandal, caused outrage or scandal!"_

Yuna said as Paine scoffed.

_"Let's not be too hasty."_

Paine said as Rikku leered at Sora as he fought.

_"Still I think he's rather tasty."_

Rikku said, earning concerned looks from everyone. Then Sora chimed back in.

_"Gotta fight to live, gotta shine to fight_  
_Otherwise how'd I get along."_

Sora said as Leon started fighting even harder. Sora upped the ante and entered Valor form, with Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands and laying waste to Leon quickly.

_"One jump ahead of the Sniper_  
_One hop ahead of the hump_  
_one trick ahead of the Gambler_  
_they're quick, but I'm much faster."_

Sora said as Leon leapt back and Sora prepared to unleash a Limit Break on him.

_"Here goes, better throw my hand in_  
_Wish me happy landin'_  
_all I gotta do is JUMP!"_

Sora shouted as he leapt into the air and came down hard on Leon in a blinding flash. When the light faded, Leon was still standing for a moment before he dropped to one knee in pain. His pain however was quickly alleviated by a Curaga spell from Sora.

"Well done Sora. You're skills are impressive, but I did notice a few weak spots in your style. Temporarily sacrificing your ability to use magic for an increase in physical strength could either save you or cost you in certain battles. What do you call that anyway?" Aqua asked as Sora reverted to his original form.

"They're called Drive Forms. I can call upon them at will now instead of needing one of my companions to help." Sora explained as Aqua nodded and leapt off the postern wall.

"Interesting. You've unknowingly learned a variation of the Command Styles." Aqua said as she tapped her chin.

"What are Command Styles?" Sora asked.

"They're very much like your Drive Forms. The Command Styles come in two tiers and provide a temporary boost in strength in a particular area but require repetitive use of a particular magic spell in order to use them properly." Aqua explained.

"Can you teach me the Command Styles?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Of course. That's what I'm here to do. I'm here to guide you how to use your powers more effectively and eventually make you into a Keyblade Master." Aqua said.

"Then you should probably try and get your power back." Leon said as Aqua and Sora both nodded.

"Yeah. We're at the castle, like Yen Sid told us, but where do we go to find her power?" Sora asked. Aqua looked up at the castle curiously. She lifted her hand up towards her face to tap her chin but as she did, her lucky charm fell out of her sleeve and landed unharmed on the ground.

"I think you dropped something." Yuna said, floating down and picking the charm up by the string necklace attached to it.

"Thanks." Aqua said as she took hold of the charm itself. When she did however it started glowing and her hand suddenly jerked towards the castle.

"WHOA! What's going on?!" Aqua asked, confused as she tried pulling the charm back towards her but found it increasingly difficult.

"I don't know. It's acting kinda like my Keyblade when Heartless or Nobodies are around." Sora said as Aqua looked at the charm curiously.

"Maybe it's trying to lead us to my Keyblade. Perhaps we should follow it." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"We'll follow you as far as the control room in Ansem's Study. After that, you should probably go on alone without us." Leon said as the Restoration Committee fell in step with the two and followed them into the castle. They walked through the winding passages, Aqua looking at the wreckage sadly as they passed, following the charms mysterious pull. As they approached Ansem's study the charm started to glow slightly with a light blue aura. When they finally reached the study they opened the door and slowly started to walk through. Aqua however paused and looked in silence at the large painting of Xehanort, resting on the floor beneath where it once hung on the wall over the writing detailing the Door to Darkness. She looked at it in silence, a hint of a tear in her eyes.

"Something wrong?" Sora asked as they stopped behind her.

"That man…the one in the painting…who is he?" Aqua asked as Sora looked at Xehanort's painting and sighed.

"That's Xehanort, the guy who created the Heartless and I guess that he technically the Nobodies too." Sora answered as Aqua lowered her head.

"I was afraid of that." She sighed as she started following the charm again; heading for the secret passage that led into what was once the Heartless Factory. They entered into control room where the computer sat humming along, the screen blank. The charm then started pulling out the window.

"It looks like whatever we're looking for is in the computer." Cid said as Sora grinned.

"Tron! Hey Tron! Are you in there?!" Sora asked. The computer then beeped for a second as the monitor flickered to life.

"_Greetings Sora. I am pleased to hear from you again. How are things in the user worlds?"_ Tron asked.

"Things are great Tron, but we need your help. We're trying to find my friend's Keyblade and her lucky charm led us here. Do you know anything?" Sora asked as the computer hummed a moment.

"_Accessing data…"_ Tron said. A moment later the screen went blank and a single blank appeared on the screen asking for a password, _"…upon analyzing all relevant data regarding Keyblades, I have uncovered this program in the DTD. I am unsure as to what it leads to."_

"Tron, can you override it?" Cid asked.

"_I cannot I'm afraid. It requires a single password followed by six additional passwords. It's a security sequence."_ Tron replied. Just then Aqua's charm started glowing and a blue beam of light shot from the charm and hit the monitor. When the beam disappeared the password blank had been filled in and six more blanks had appeared.

"_Password accepted."_ Tron said.

"Okay so now that we got the first password in. What do we do about these six?" Cid asked as he stepped closer to the computer.

"Tron, can't you give us any sort of clue?" Sora asked.

"_I can actually but it does not make any sense to my processors. The clue is, quote, 'The six."_ Tron replied. Aqua and Sora were both confused but Leon, Aerith, and Cid looked at each other knowingly.

"The six? What's that supposed to mean?" Aqua asked.

"He means the six apprentices of Ansem the Wise." Aerith said as Aqua and Sora looked at them confused.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Yeah there were only five last I remember." Aqua said.

"That's true but Ansem added a sixth and made him his primary apprentice." Aerith said as Sora realized what she meant.

"Oh. I know who you mean. You mean Xehanort and the five guys who became the first six members of Organization XIII right?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed.

"Right." Leon said Aqua walked up to the computer.

"You say that 'Xehanort' was made his primary apprentice? Then that means the order is Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and…Ienzo." Aqua said as she finished typing in the names into the blanks. She pressed enter and instantly the screen went blank again.

"_Passwords accepted."_ Tron said as a series of mechanical sounds were heard from the factory floor below.

"You knew the apprentice's names?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Before they apparently became Nobodies, like you said." Aqua said as she and Sora turned towards the door, led by the charm once again.

"We'll stay here and wait for you to return." Leon said as Sora nodded over his shoulder.

"We'll be rooting for you." Aerith said as Aqua and Sora entered the elevator to take them down to the factory floor.

* * *

**End Chapter 3.**

**Please R&R.**

The Song above was an altered version of "One Jump Ahead" from Disney's Aladdin. I do not own it.


	4. Tearful Sentiment

Sora and Aqua emerged onto the factory floor to see that a large rectangular hole had opened up, leading down under the floor.

"Looks like that hole was opened up from those passwords. I wonder where it leads." Sora said as Aqua nodded in agreement.

"The charm is tugging us towards it so I guess we have to go in." Aqua said as they approached the hole. They looked down and saw that it led down to a spiraling ramp that descended deep into the darkness.

"I guess what Master Yen Sid said about entering the deepest darkest recesses of the castle, is literally the deepest darkest recesses." Aqua mused as she and Sora started to slowly descend down the ramp.

"So…" Sora said after a moment of silence, "…I noticed you looked kinda sad when you saw that picture of Xehanort in Ansem's Study a while ago. Did you know him?"

Aqua looked at him silently for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"I knew him, yes. But the man he was and the man he is now are two completely different people. I suspect that our quest is going to lead us to an inevitable confrontation with Xehanort." Aqua said as Sora looked confused.

"I think I already killed him. I killed his Heartless and then his Nobody a while ago so I think that should be the end of him." Sora said as Aqua shook her head.

"You destroyed parts of him but you didn't destroy him completely. I suspect that his heart and body still survive. If so, we're going to need to find him." Aqua said.

"Then we'll be ready for him. He can't escape us forever." Sora said determinedly. Aqua gave him a worried look.

"You don't quite understand Sora, we can't kill him." Aqua said, receiving a confused look from the boy.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Aqua remained silent for a moment before answering.

"It's complicated Sora. I'll explain more later." Aqua said as they finally reached a pair of large white double doors. By this time the aura around the charm was noticeably brighter. The doors immediately opened for them, revealing a long white hallway that reminded Sora very much of the pristine white walls of the Castle that Never Was. Along both walls were three doors each, all of them with a single barred window and two crisscrossing chains over each door. At the end of the hall was a pair of double doors matching the double doors in the front.

"What happened here?" Sora asked as he and Aqua passed through the hall. Aqua looked through the bars as they moved.

"I don't know. I've never been here. But the darkness is definitely strong inside those cells." Aqua replied as they reached the double doors. They both paused outside the doors. Aqua looked at her charm and it was glowing brightly now. Whatever it was leading them to, lay just beyond those doors.

"Alright, whatever happens in there, Sora, we need to be brave and stay together." Aqua said as Sora nodded and summoned his Keyblade before entering a battle stance.

"I'm ready." Sora said as Aqua nodded in return and reached for the doors. They pushed open the doors to reveal a room with stark white walls, a single throne facing away from the door, a suit of dark purple, blue, and black armor with a single blue Keyblade embedded in the ground in front of it. Aqua gasped as she recognized the armor and Keyblade.

"That's! That's my armor and Keyblade!" Aqua exclaimed as she walked up to the suit. Sora walked around to the throne, examining it curiously before turning his attention back to Aqua and her armor.

"That's yours?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded and approached the Keyblade.

"It was, and hopefully it will be mine again." Aqua said as she reached for the Keyblade but much to her surprise the blade vanished in a burst of white light along with the armor.

"Wha-What happened?" Sora asked as he hurried over to her.

"I don't know. I thought Yen Sid said that we would encounter the embodiment of my power here." Aqua said as Sora nodded. It was then that they heard it. A soft and distant rumbling sound. The sound was getting closer and louder. Sora and Aqua looked at each other worriedly before looking out the door and down the hallway. What they saw surprised them. Standing at the end of the hallway, was the armor they had found, clutching the Keyblade in its right hand.

"_Awaken your memories." _A strange voice echoed just as a massive wave of water rushed into the hallway, seemingly consuming the armor with it. Aqua and Sora braced themselves as the wave barreled towards them. Finally it hit, flooding the room to the ceiling. Aqua and Sora both had the presence of mind to try and hold their breath before the wave hit and they were both holding onto each other's hands. Without warning however the water suddenly drained and the two gently touched the floor. When they looked around they realized that they were no longer in the chamber under the castle. They were in the Station of Awakening.

"Sora, are you alright?" Aqua asked. She turned towards him to see that she wasn't grasping his hand at all but a simple sword. Sora was nowhere to be seen. She looked down to see that the floor was a stained glass window of herself laying curled up in the fetal position and holding her Keyblade with her eyes shut. She climbed to her feet quickly when she heard a metallic rattle coming from behind her. She turned and saw her armor standing there with her Keyblade in hand. It immediately dropped into a battle stance. Aqua's eyes widened in shock for a moment before a determined expression appeared on her face and she too dropped into a matching stance with the sword in her hand raised.

The armor quickly lunged with the Keyblade ready to strike. Aqua simply leapt to the side with a spinning attack but the armor stopped the blow. She and the armor pressed their respective swords against the other. Aqua reared back her free hand and then thrust it forward with a powerful Blizzard blast, knocking the armor back a ways. The armor looked up at her with an air of defiance before it charged at her again. Aqua however cartwheeled towards it, bouncing up into the air before reaching the armor and coming down on it with the sword. Once again however it blocked her blow.

"_Remember."_ A voice said inside her head. She bared her teeth in a snarl as she shoved against the armor, knocking it back, and aimed her sword at the suit as it started charging towards her. Just before it reached her however, she suddenly started glowing with multiple colors and she quickly leapt up and unleashed a sudden wave of multicolored bolts of energy aimed right at the armor which skid to a halt before the energy crashed into it. She suddenly fired off another wave of bolts as she hovered in midair. The bolts homed in on the armor, crashing into it at high speeds. She fired again and yet another wave struck the armor. Finally her feet touched the ground again and she charged the armor with the sword raised. Much to her surprise however the armor leapt back up to its feet and swung at her causing their swords to meet with a loud clang.

This time Aqua pushed her entire body against the armor itself, knocking it back enough that she was able to grab the Keyblade in its hands. She quickly threw up a reflega spell that knocked the Keyblade out of its hands and into hers. In an instant, the Keyblade vanished from her hand and she looked in shock towards the armor. However the armor reached out its hand and instead of the Keyblade returning, it was instead replaced by the sword Aqua had been wielding. She looked down at where the sword was and smiled as she saw and felt the familiar blue Keyblade in her hand.

"Okay so now all that's left is to get you back." Aqua said to the armor as she fired a Magnega spell that caused the armor to be pulled towards the center of the large purple orb. Aqua then started to glow with a white aura and float in the air. She had entered her special Command Style: Magic Wish. She then started to unleash waves of the same two ultra powerful magic spells on the armor. She would blast the armor with powerful Thundaga bolts and then use Magnega on it to keep it pinned down. Finally the glow disappeared and a smirk appeared on her face.

Suddenly the armor found itself dismantled from countless blows to it from what seemed like a sudden army of Aqua clones. However the clones quickly vanished, revealing Aqua standing alone with the Keyblade in one hand and holding the armors' left shoulder guard in the other. She had used her other Command Style, Ghost Drive, on it and completely dismantled the armor. The armor pieces started to glow white and then proceeded to vanish in streams of light that flowed into the single shoulder guard in her hand. Then the guard itself disappeared and then reappeared on her left shoulder. With a smile she looked up as she saw a bright white light appearing in the darkness overhead.

"_Now…you are whole." _The voice said as the white light enveloped her and she closed her eyes with a smile.

"Aqua? Aqua?!" She heard Sora calling behind her. She opened her eyes to find herself back in the chamber under the castle.

"Sora? What happened?" Aqua asked as she turned towards him.

"You reached for your Keyblade but it disappeared along with that armor on the floor and then you kinda froze and then a piece of the armor just reappeared on your shoulder." Sora explained as Aqua looked at her left shoulder and sure enough, there was the armor piece. Aqua sighed with a smile as she turned back to Sora.

"I'm back to my old self again Sora. Now that I've reclaimed my Keyblade and armor, I can now properly teach you to use your own Keyblade." Aqua said as she summoned her Keyblade.

"So do you really want to be my apprentice?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"I do. I want to be a true Keyblade Master like you." Sora said as Aqua nodded with a smile and pressed her hand against the shoulder guard. Almost instantly the full suit of armor appeared around her.

"Kneel, Sora." She instructed and Sora complied, dropping down onto one knee, looking up at her.

"As a Master of the Keyblade, guardian and protector of the light and the worlds, I hereby accept you as my apprentice…" Aqua said as she used her Keyblade to gently tap his left shoulder.

"…To study and learn the secret art of wielding the Keyblade. To protect the light and those aligned with it. To hold strong against whatever threat that the darkness may throw at you…" Aqua said as she tapped his right shoulder before holding the blade over his head.

"…To protect the worlds from darkness. And above all else, to protect Kingdom Hearts and its secrets from any who would abuse its power or use it for evil…" Aqua said as both she and Sora started to glow with a white light. A white orb of light started to appear over Sora's head as well, growing slightly larger with every passing second.

"…and with the power of your heart as your drive, the Keyblade as your weapon, and the light of Kingdom Hearts as your guide, let the power of these elements come together and forge for you the armor that will forever mark you as a Keyblade Wielder and one day…as a Keyblade Master." Aqua said as the sphere of light burst and in its place hovered a single metal shoulder guard. It was a simple round black dome with a red circle in the center with a smaller version of his Crown necklace symbol in the dead center. There were two dark blue wing-like prongs that stood up from the top and three folds of black metal plating that hung down from the rim of the circle with a gold trim and a red inlay on the trim.

Sora looked up and marveled at the armor piece as it floated down into his awaiting hands. It vanished before it could reach his hands, instead reappearing on his left shoulder and instantly a full suit of armor appeared around him. It was shaped similarly to Aqua's except with the obvious masculine features. It was mostly a black or dark gray with a red breast plate, arcing upwards and blue plating over his stomach. The metal knee guards were golden with red stripes running up to his belt. His helmet, when compared to Aqua's, seemed more squashed and flat at the top. His helmet also had two prongs on either side of his head which pointed backwards and angled diagonally upward. Aqua couldn't help but sigh at the sight. Sora could tell she was smiling at him through her helmet and that the sigh was one of happiness.

"So how do I look?" Sora asked as he stood up.

"Your armor…it looks almost exactly like Ven's." Aqua explained as both hers and Sora's helmets disappeared but the rest of the armor remained.

"Maybe his armor remodeled itself for me." Sora said as Aqua smiled.

"I doubt it but I would assume that his heart did have an influence on its design. But it did take your colors." Aqua replied as the armor suits completely disappeared back into the shoulder guards. They both then started heading back towards the surface. As they walked through the hallway, Sora placed his hands behind his head in his usual relaxed manner.

"So what do we do now?" Sora asked.

"We start getting you trained. If we want to unlock Ven's heart, then we need to make you a master." Aqua said as Sora shrugged.

"Okay then, where do we start?" Sora asked as Aqua scratched the back of her head.

"I don't really know. I've never trained an apprentice before." Aqua said as Sora looked up at her curiously.

"You haven't?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed and nodded.

"I'm afraid not. I had just passed my Masters Qualification Exam when all this insanity happened and I wound up trapped inside the Realm of Darkness. But don't worry Sora, I'm going to make sure you become a master, with every fiber of my being." Aqua said as Sora smiled and nodded.

"I know you will." Sora said. Aqua smiled back at him.

"You are a lot like Ven." Aqua said as they reached the spiraling ramp. Suddenly the ground shook violently beneath their feet.

"What was that?!" Aqua asked.

"I don't know but we better get to the surface and fast!" Sora said as he and Aqua started running up the ramp as fast as they could.

* * *

**On the surface…**

Sora and Aqua emerged from Ansem's study and into the castle hallways. Leon and the restoration committee had disappeared from the study, as could be expected from the sudden earthquake. Almost as soon as they entered the halls they saw a group of Shadow Heartless spring up from the ground.

"What are those things?!" Aqua asked as the Keyblades automatically appeared in their hands.

"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed as he started to attack them. Aqua immediately cartwheeled into action, cutting down a few as she spun. The two Keyblade wielders started making their way through the halls towards the postern, cutting down as many heartless as they could as they went. Finally they reached the Postern and almost instantly the Heartless vanished in puffs of smoke.

"Huh?" Sora asked confused as he and Aqua looked around. Aqua then spotted a figure wearing a tattered gray hood and cloak, similar to the Organization XIII robes, and standing atop the rock walls overlooking the postern.

"Who are you?!" Aqua asked as she pointed her Keyblade at the figure.

"I don't know anymore." The figure said. Its voice was masculine so it was apparently a guy hidden under the cloak.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you responsible for these heartless?!" Sora asked angrily.

"I think…I am. I think that I am the one responsible for making them. Part of me feels…pride while the other feels…remorse." The figure said as he turned towards Aqua.

"I feel like we know each other. Like we are both close friends yet…we are also bitter enemies." The figure said as Aqua looked at him curiously.

"Who are you? What's your name?!" Aqua asked. The figure stumbled slightly.

"I'm…not…sure." He replied as he leapt off the rock wall and landed on the ground outside the postern, approaching them in a sort of drunken swagger.

"What do you want with us?" Sora asked as the figure stopped a few feet in front of them.

"I want you to…AUGH!!!" The figure grunted in agony as he stumbled backwards, clutching his head as a strange black and white aura surrounded him. Then a pair of strange black and white magic thorns, like the kind seen whenever nobodies were present, appeared circling around him along with the black and white glow. With an anguished yell he threw back his head as the ground beneath him exploded upwards with dark energy. In an instant, a pair of floating black and white spheres appeared in midair. One had an image of six lances with a strange gray wind swirling around it while the other had a pair of crossed Keyblades inside of it while a beam of light swirled around it. For a brief moment, Aqua caught a glimpse of white hair and a pair of orange hued eyes, piercing out from beneath the hood.

"I. Want. You. Both…to DIE!!!" the man said with an angry snarl as the two spheres burst and two black hooded figures appeared in their places. One figure was about as tall as Sora while the other was about as tall as Aqua if not a little taller.

"We're not going to let you get away with whatever you're planning!" Aqua said as she and Sora dropped into their battle stances.

"I…want you to…ARGG!!!" the man grunted in pain as he disappeared in a corridor of darkness, leaving the two figures behind. The taller of the two figures raised its hands and immediately six purple lances appeared around it as a powerful wind started swirling around it. The wind was so powerful that it blew back it's hood, revealing the familiar face of…

"Xaldin!!!" Sora exclaimed as Xaldin snarled and grabbed his lances known as "Lindworm." The shorter figure however raised both its hands and summoned two familiar Keyblades…Oathkeeper & Oblivion. Sora blinked in surprise at seeing the two Keyblades.

"Dilan?!" Aqua asked over the roaring winds.

"Who?!" Sora asked back but Xaldin leapt forward and attacked him first. Sora quickly had to go on the defensive, blocking or dodging the Whirlwind Lancer's attacks. The shorter figure looked around curiously before its eyes settled on Sora. It crouched down slightly but Aqua leapt into his path.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Aqua asked the shorter figure. It acted surprised, almost startled.

"Wait! I'm not your enemy, I'm here to help Sora!" the figure said with a young male voice, earning a confused look from Aqua.

"Why should I believe you?!" Aqua asked as the figure sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not here to fight you! I need to help Sora!" the figure replied. Aqua looked at the figure for a moment before he sighed. He pulled back his hood, causing Aqua's face to freeze in a look of absolute shock and disbelief. Before her stood a young boy that looked exactly like Ven.

"Ven?! Is it really you?!" Aqua asked but the boy shook his head.

"No…my name's not Ven. I'm Roxas."

* * *

**End Chapter 4**


	5. Keyblade Riders

"Roxas?!" Aqua asked over the still raging winds. The spiky haired boy nodded before turning towards where Sora and Xaldin were fighting. He quickly leapt into battle, ripping off his Organization XIII robes to reveal his Twilight Town garb underneath. He landed behind Xaldin and swung both blades at the Whirlwind Lancer's back. Xaldin let out an enraged yell as he turned his weapons on Roxas as well. Aqua was confused to say the least but she knew that she had to help. Before she could do anything though, she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, another figure standing on the top of the rock wall. She turned and saw what appeared to be the dark figure from before but his hood was down, revealing a series of strange blue bandages wrapped around his head, revealing a single eye and his mouth. The expression on the man's face was one of confusion, watching the battle in the postern with intrigue. Aqua had to tear herself away from him for a moment and regain her focus on the battle.

Sora and Roxas were easily overpowering Xaldin, Roxas even breaking one of Xaldin's lances with a scissor cut using Oathkeeper & Oblivion. The remains of the broken lance splintered into tiny fragments, dissolving away quickly. Xaldin roared in anger before he snapped his fingers. Aqua quickly looked upward and saw five Dragoon type Nobodies dropping at high speed towards the ground. She raised her Keyblade as the dragoons landed around her.

"Sora, that's your fight, this is mine." Aqua said before she spun into action…literally. Xaldin raised his hand, causing one of the dragoons to fly towards it. In a flash the dragoon became a replacement sixth lance. Sora and Roxas looked at each other with determined glances. They both nodded and in a flash, Sora's clothes became white and black with Oathkeeper and Oblivion floating around him. Sora had entered Final Form while Roxas had disappeared. Aqua briefly stood in awe of her apprentice's sudden rise in strength as he flew towards Xaldin and started unleashing a flurry of ferocious attacks at the Whirlwind Lancer.

Xaldin suddenly started to glow bright white, causing Sora to float back slightly as Xaldin let out another enraged yell. The six lances grouped up to become a massive dragon. Sora had seen this before during his original fight with Xaldin back in Beast's Castle but this time there was no avoiding it. He suddenly remembered something. Just seconds before the wind dragon unleashed a powerful beam of cutting winds, Sora pressed the shoulder guard on his left shoulder and in a flash his armor appeared over him. The wind proceeded to fly at him, cutting into the armor but the armor noticeably softened the blow. Xaldin glared at Sora in disbelief before he leapt at him. The armor vanished in a flash of light and then without warning, Sora's Final Form vanished as well, leaving Sora with only the single Keyblade. A brief horizontal flash of light appeared at Xaldin's waist as Sora landed on the ground in front of the Whirlwind Lancer and his dragon.

All around them, the Dragoons suddenly exploded, leaving the bubble like orbs of magic power behind. In a powerful upward gust of black magic and wind the lance dragon disappeared, leaving Xaldin standing on the ground of the postern. He suddenly dropped to his knees, grunting in agony. He looked over his shoulder to see Roxas kneeling with his Keyblades held straight out to the sides. Roxas had been the one to deal the final blow. Sora and Aqua were both equally as surprised as Xaldin was. With an agonized and enraged roar, Xaldin threw his head back as he started to gradually turn completely transparent until only his agonized roar echoed across the now stilled winds.

"What was that?" Aqua asked. Roxas stood and turned towards the two before approaching.

"That was an absent silhouette." Roxas answered.

"A what?" Sora asked.

"The absent silhouette is the Nobody equivalent to a ghost. They retain all the power of the original Nobody but once defeated, the nobody is gone for good and no trace of them will remain." Roxas explained.

"Well that answers Xaldin, but what are you doing here?!" Sora asked as Roxas shrugged.

"I was pulled from your heart, Sora. Whoever that guy was a moment ago, managed to rip me free from your heart. I don't pretend to understand how he did it." Roxas answered before looking up at the confused Aqua.

"I am completely lost here. Sora, who is this? He says he's not Ven but he looks…and even sounds exactly like him." Aqua asked.

"Oh this is Roxas. He's my Nobody." Sora said as Roxas smiled and nodded at her.

"Formerly number thirteen in Organization XIII, the Key of Destiny." Roxas added. Aqua looked deep in thought for a moment before it suddenly clicked for her.

"So…ah now I get it. Sora, I think Ven's had a more noticeable impact on you than you realize." Aqua said, earning confused looks from Roxas and Sora.

"Huh?" they both asked.

"Let me explain. I mentioned that Roxas looks and sounds like Ven, right? I believe the reason for that is because of the fact that you have Ven's heart inside of you. When Roxas was created, Ven's heart provided Roxas with a sort of…blueprint to work with in terms of developing a physical body. I'm not making sense am I?" Aqua asked as Sora and Roxas looked at each other in silence for a moment, both deep in thought.

"No, I think you may be right." Sora said after a moment, touching his chest, "Ven's heart has been inside me for almost eleven years. I remember the whole thing. And when I lost my heart to protect Kairi, I lost Ven's heart too. But I got it back. Ven helped to create Roxas, making him look just like himself, to let anyone who both knew Ven and encountered Roxas realize that the two were connected somehow."

"And that you were the connection." Roxas added, reaching the same conclusion.

"Exactly." Aqua said as she knelt down onto one knee, looking at Roxas.

"Can you tell us anything about Ven's heart? You've been inside Sora's heart so you might know something. Is there anything?" She asked hopefully. Roxas closed his eyes and lowered his head trying to remember.

"I remember…remember seeing him. He was asleep, sitting on a throne I think. Before I was pulled from Sora's heart, I noticed him stirring slightly. Sora's well on his way to waking Ven up." Roxas answered as a tear of joy rolled down Aqua's cheek as she smiled.

"Ven." She said silently before she quickly composed herself and wiped the tears away. Roxas reached in his pocket and handed Sora something.

"Here, take this. Whenever you need me, just use this and I'll come and fight for you." Roxas said as a blue aura started to appear around him and he started turning transparent. He then walked into Sora and vanished, causing the aura to transfer to Sora for a moment before disappearing. Sora looked down in his hand and saw a simple blue sphere with the number XIII etched into it. The sphere was the same as from the struggle trophy. Sora smiled before putting the sphere in one of his pockets.

"So then…what do we do now?" Sora asked as Aqua smiled.

"The plan is still the same. We need to get you trained. I know of a few places that we can go to that should still have people there that can help. At the very least, the places will point us in the direction of those that can help." Aqua said before she paused and looked at Sora curiously for a moment.

"What is it?" Sora asked, noticing her curious look.

"I seem to remember someone that relied on something called a gummy ship for travel. Am I correct?" Aqua asked as a light bulb appeared over Sora's head…figuratively speaking of course.

"A gummy ship! We can as Cid if he has a spare one that we can-." Sora said as he attempted to run down the path back towards town but Aqua stopped him.

"Whoa hold on there, Sora! The days of using a gummy ship are over. You're a Keyblade wielder, and now you're my apprentice, and all Keyblade wielders in my day traveled using the very weapon they used in battle." Aqua said, earning a confused look from Sora.

"You mean the Keyblade can unlock pathways to different worlds?" Sora asked as Aqua looked thoughtful for a moment.

"That's…one way to look at it I suppose. But really what I mean is that the Keyblade can actually become the vessel that carries you between worlds. It is essentially a gummy ship in itself." Aqua said as Sora looked at his Keyblade curiously.

"You mean…The Keyblade can become a gummy ship?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Observe." She said as she held her Keyblade out in front of her and closed her eyes. In a flash of light blue light, her armor appeared around her and a pair of large crescent shaped metal platforms appeared floating in midair, the larger one floating over the lower one. The top one was made of a dark gray metal with a single sideways square made of silver in the middle of the crescent. The lower platform was a darkish blue and was very reminiscent of the tooth on Aqua's Keyblade. (A/N: For a good visual reference, I suggest going to the KH wiki and searching for "Keyblade Rider.")

Sora stood amazed at the sight of the strange device as Aqua stepped onto the lower platform and grabbed a hold of the upper platform.

"This is a Keyblade Rider. It is how I got from place to place between worlds back in my day." Aqua said as she hopped off again and in a flash the Keyblade Rider vanished and became a Keyblade again. Aqua's armor disappeared too.

"So how do I use mine?" Sora asked as he held up his Keyblade.

"Well it's kinda tricky. It may take a few attempts to truly activate it." Aqua said as Sora shrugged.

"It's okay. I'm going to keep trying until I get it right." Sora said as Aqua smiled and gave an affirming nod.

**…**

"I GIVE UP!!!" Sora yelled as he threw down his Keyblade in frustration. Aqua blew a strand of blue hair out her face in irritation. He had been trying, and subsequently failing, for hours now. She hopped off the postern wall and approached him.

"Obviously this is something we're going to have to really work on. You can't summon the Keyblade Rider like this. You need to have a calm mind when doing it for the first time. Maybe we should take five for now." Aqua said as Sora sighed and plopped down on the ground. Aqua sat down next to him, Indian style, examining her lucky charm quietly.

"So what do we do for now?" Sora asked.

"I dunno. Perhaps we should get to know each other a little better." Aqua suggested, earning a somewhat odd look from Sora as he leaned away from her.

"Uh, no offence but aren't you a little um…old, for me?" Sora asked, causing Aqua to giggle.

"Oh Sora, I didn't mean like that, silly. But I am kinda into younger guys…Ven especially." Aqua said, looking away slightly, blushing a little bit at the same time.

"Wow, how old was Ven when you knew him?" Sora asked.

"How old are you?" Aqua asked.

"Fifteen, why?" Sora asked as Aqua smirked.

"He was fifteen too." She replied, again earning the same look from Sora. This caused her to laugh.

"Relax Sora, as cute as you are, I'm not interested in you. My heart lies with Ven. Besides it would be grossly unethical of me, as your instructor, to even consider a romantic relationship with you, my student." Aqua said as Sora breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Okay, for a moment there I was trying to figure out what to say to my friends when I got home." Sora said. Aqua suddenly looked at him. If she had dogs ears they would have perked up at that.

"Home? You've never mentioned your home before. Is it nice?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Oh it's awesome. But for some reason I…nah never mind." Sora said waving off the comment.

"No-no, what is it?" Aqua asked.

"It's something weird about my home. I love it yeah but…for some reason, I've always had this urge to…I dunno, go out and see the worlds. You know?" Sora asked as Aqua smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. I do." Aqua replied. (Music Cue: "Go the Distance" - Disney's Hercules).

"But my home…it's like some place out of a dream when I come back. It's just so…magical." Sora said as he stood up and stared up at the sky.

"Tell me about it, Sora." Aqua said as Sora smiled up at the sky. He then started to sing…

_"I will often dream,_  
_of a far-off place,_  
_where a great warm welcome_  
_will be waiting for me._  
_Where the crowds will cheer,_  
_when they see my face_  
_and a voice keeps saying_  
_this is where I'm meant to be."_

Sora sang as Aqua stood up behind him. Sora continued singing…

_"I will find my way._  
_I can go the distance._  
_I'll be there someday_  
_if I can be strong._  
_I know every mile_  
_will be worth my while._  
_I would go most anywhere_  
_to feel like I belong."_

Sora finished singing as Aqua placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Sounds like you get kinda homesick on these adventures huh?" Aqua asked as Sora looked up at her.

"Don't you?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed heavily and nodded. Sora caught a glimpse in her eye that made him realize that it was a sad subject for her.

"What happened to your world?" Sora asked. Aqua looked sadly up at the sky before replying.

"It…was destroyed…but it's still out there…waiting for me to come back to it. But I can't, not until we've found everyone we're looking for." Aqua said as Sora took hold of her hand. She looked down at him as he gave her one of his trademark grins.

"Then we'll find everyone together and we'll both go home. No matter what happens to it, your home will always be home." Sora said as Aqua smiled at him as they both looked up at the sky and Sora started singing…

_"We'll be on our way._  
_We can go the distance._  
_I don't care how far,_  
_somehow we'll be strong._  
_I know every mile_  
_will be worth our while._  
_I would go most anywhere_  
_to find where we belong."_

(End music)

Sora sang as Aqua smiled with a contented sigh.

"You really know how to bring someone out of a bad mood don't ya, Sora?" Aqua asked.

"I always like to stay cheerful. My friends say that it's one of my good qualities." Sora replied. Aqua smirked and tapped her chin in thought.

"Then perhaps you should try summoning the Keyblade Rider again, but keep that attitude when you do it." Aqua said as Sora took a deep breath and raised his Keyblade. The Keyblade suddenly started to glow and in a bright flash of white light the Keyblade vanished and Sora's armor appeared around him before a giant black, red, and yellow metal platform with decorative fixtures on it appeared floating in midair. Leon and the Restoration Committee had arrived just in time to see it appear and were noticeably stunned. (A/N: As with Aqua's Keyblade Rider, check out Ven's on the KH wiki but imagine it re-colored red, yellow, and black)

"Aqua! LOOK I'M DOING IT!!! I'M DOING IT!!!" Sora exclaimed as he hopped onto the Keyblade Rider like it was a skateboard. He immediately started flying around at high speeds, not even falling off and making several laps around the castle. The Restoration Committee watched in amazement. Cid let out an impressed whistle.

"Well would ya look at that!" Cid exclaimed. (Music Cue: "Go the Distance (Reprise)" – Disney's Hercules)

"He's flying!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"How is he doing that?!" Rikku asked.

"Atta boy Sora! I knew you could do it!" Aqua exclaimed as she summoned her Rider and quickly caught up with him.

"Aqua this is so awesome! I have got to show this to my friends!" Sora exclaimed as they flew through the air.

"Then lead the way Sora! Let's go pay your home a visit!" Aqua said as Sora grinned from under his helmet and the two Keyblade Riders streaked into the sky as the two sang…

_"We will beat the odds!_  
_We can go the distance!_  
_We will face the worlds_  
_fearless, proud and strong!_  
_We will guard the Hearts!_  
_We can go the distance!_  
_Till we find our heroes welcome_  
_right where we, be-lo----------------------------------ong!"_

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

"How annoying! That little brat is still alive, even after that guy summoned those Absent Silhouettes!" Pete grumbled as he crossed his arms, looking at a large floating sphere showing Sora and Aqua flying off on the Keyblade Riders.

"Patience is required here. He is still only just learning the true ability to wield the Keyblade." Maleficent said as she looked calmly at the sphere.

"Even at his current strength, he is strong." A calm and dark man's voice from the shadows said.

"And what do you, a lowly worm, know of the boy's true strength?" a snobbish but just as dark man's voice asked.

"Enough to know that he's not going to go down easily." The dark and calm voice replied.

"I'll be the judge of that. And I'll be sure to execute him properly as well." An eloquent man's voice said.

"**HEE**-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!!! Those goody two shoes are in for a world of hurt!" an insane man's voice laughed.

"It seems I drew the death card when I looked into his future." A deep bass male voice laughed.

"Oh-ho-ho a game of death! I love games, especially when the losers DIE!!!" Ah-he-he-he-he-he-(Snort)." A frazzled old woman's voice laughed insanely.

"Whoa-whoa! Guys! Re-lax. The game's only just beginning. The kid's going to the underworld this time for sure." Hades said as he casually strolled onto the scene.

"And what of that no good girl?" Pete asked as Maleficent and Hades both looked down at the sphere more carefully this time. Maleficent's eyes widened this time in anger.

"No! It cannot BE!!!" She exclaimed angrily as she recognized Aqua. Hades proceeded to ignite into flames in anger.

"RAUGHHHHHH!!! It's that girl! The one who defeated the Ice Titan years ago!" Hades vented before he calmed himself down. "Okay fine-fine-I'm cool-fine. SO her dreams are all so _noble_. Well what's say we put an end to that huh?"

"I concur…Pete, you know what to do." Maleficent said with a dark glare as Pete cowered and bowed out of the room as the villains started to laugh sinisterly which evolved into maniacal cackling.

* * *

**End Chapter 5.**

The songs above were slightly altered versions of "Go the Distance" & it's reprise, both from Disney's Hercules, which I do not own.


	6. Down in Destiny Part 1

Sora & Aqua flew through the stars on the Keyblade Riders, Sora marveling at the sights he previously had been unable to see beforehand in the Gummy Ship.

"Wow…this is…this is incredible!" Sora exclaimed through his helmet as Aqua laughed.

"I know. It feels like it's been so long since I've been out here. I can feel a definite change though, like the worlds have changed." Aqua replied through her helmet.

"So do you really want to visit my homeworld?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"It would probably be a good idea. You told me a while ago that you left alone on a raft. Your friends are probably very worried about you so they could use the peace of mind knowing that you're safe." Aqua replied.

"Good idea. Wow it's going to be so cool. Riku is going to be so jealous." Sora said with a smile. Aqua couldn't help but laugh. He was reminding her of Ven even more. Soon enough they saw the Destiny Islands up ahead. Sora suddenly started flying faster as they got closer and Aqua sped up to catch him. Before they knew it, they had passed through the protective shell surrounding the world…

**…**

**On the small islet…**

Kairi was sitting on the sideways tree, looking out over the ocean with a worried expression on her face. Selphie and Penelo approached her from the wooden bridge with another, older looking girl close behind. Selphie was the same as she had always been wearing her yellow one piece dress with overall straps and the pocket on her chest. In her hands was her prized jump rope.

Penelo (Final Fantasy XII) was a blond girl about sixteen years old and a little taller than Selphie but not by much. She wore a dark green spaghetti strap belly shirt under an open, knee length, suede vest, a dark green pair of mini-shorts that matched the belly shirt, and a pair of tan boots that went almost halfway up her thighs. The older girl was about eighteen years old, was taller than the two and had a light pink colored hair. Her hair was tied in a ponytail on the left side of her head which went all the way down to her chest. She wore a red pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent sweeper in the same style of the shirt, thigh-highs, ankle boots, and a white bandage on her left arm.

"Kairi are you still moping around?" Selphie asked. Kairi didn't even react.

"Give it up Selphie, she's worried about Sora. We all are." Penelo said as the older girl nodded in agreement.

"But she can't just mope all day. She has to cheer up sometime." Selphie replied.

"Can't you tell Selphie? She's in love." The older girl said with a smile.

"Never let it be known that Selphie Tilmitt is one to ridicule romance, Serah, but I'm not about to let Kairi just sit around and do nothing." Selphie said as she turned around towards the sideways tree only to come face to face with…

"GAH! Riku! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Selphie jumped as Riku stared at her blankly with his arms crossed.

"Selphie, just leave Kairi alone. She doesn't want any company right now. Until we know that Sora's okay, she's not going to change." Riku said as Selphie put her hands on her hips.

"Oh come on Riku!" Selphie argued as the older girl, Serah, noticed something in the sky and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Hey look, two shooting stars!" Serah said as the other three looked up to where she was pointing.

"Two shooting stars?" Riku asked.

"Yeah that sounds kinda weird. And look at the way they travel. If I didn't know any better I'd swear they were getting closer." Penelo said. They didn't notice as Kairi slid off the tree and onto her feet.

"Wait…those aren't stars." Selphie said. Down on the beach below, Tidus, Wakka, and Vaan (Final Fantasy XII) were watching the two falling objects curiously. They didn't notice as an excited smile appeared on Kairi's face.

"Sora…Sora! It's SORA!!!" Kairi exclaimed. In the air, Sora and Aqua broke the sound barrier as their Keyblade Riders flew through the sky. They started slowing down as they approached the islet where the rest of the gang was waiting. Sora and Aqua's helmets magically vanished as they started surfing across the waves with their Riders.

"GANGWAY!!!" Riku shouted to the trio in the surf when he realized that Sora and Aqua were aimed straight at the beach. The three quickly scrambled to get off the beach and they succeeded with time to spare. Aqua managed to quickly slow her Rider down, practically taking it from sixty to zero in five seconds flat without the sheer…Sora however…

"YAHHHHH-!" CRASH! FOOMP

That was the sound of Sora crashing his Rider into the beach and getting catapulted all the way into the entrance to the secret area of the islet where he got stuck.

"Ooh." The islanders and Aqua cringed in unison at the sight before hurrying over to help him out. When they found him, he was trying to push his way out with his feet pressed against the wall on either side of the entrance, leaving his bum hanging in midair above the ground. Penelo and Selphie exchanged mischievous smirks.

"Nothing like a Kodak moment." Selphie said as she pulled out a cell phone and snapped a photo of Sora's behind with it. She then proceeded to send it to everyone on her friends list with the caption "Riku's Yaoi dream" typed out below it. Riku scowled at the implication (as did the author).

"Selphie, I'm getting you back for that one." Riku said as he motioned to Wakka to help.

"Oh like I'm scared of that threat, Riku." Selphie said with a smirk.

"Threat!? That was a promise!" Riku grunted as he and Wakka started to pull on Sora's still armored legs but he wouldn't budge.

"Geez he's in there tight, ya?" Wakka grunted.

"It's that metal stuff he's wearing. If he didn't have it on he could get out no problem." Tidus said as Aqua sighed.

"Sora, lose the armor." Aqua said. Almost instantly the armor vanished and the two pulled Sora out easily.

"Wow…what a rush." Sora said as he shook his head clear of the cobwebs.

"Couldn't you have just used the gummy ship transporter?" Riku asked in frustration at having freed his friend from the crawlspace.

"I wanted to show off my new skills." Sora replied with a shrug as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"What skills?" Vaan asked. Vaan, a blond haired boy about sixteen, was wearing an open black vest with long baggy gray jogging pants with a red cloth tied around his waist.

"Yeah how to fall with style? I gave it a five point six by the way." Tidus said as Sora rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on guys. I'm back safe and sound. Weren't you worried about me?" Sora asked.

"Of course we were Sora, Kairi more than any of us." Selphie said as the people parted slightly, revealing Kairi who bolted through them and promptly threw her arms around Sora's neck.

"Sora! You're alright!" She exclaimed almost tearfully, taking Sora by surprise. He quickly however put his arms around her in return.

"I told you I'd be fine." Sora said as the two finally separated.

"So is your adventure over already? Have you found everyone you needed to?" Riku asked as he slapped his best friend on the back.

"Not all of them, but I did find one." Sora said as he looked at Aqua who smiled. "Everyone, this is Master Aqua, the last true Keyblade Master."

"Pleasure. I'm Penelo and this is Selphie." Penelo said as she and Selphie gave a polite curtsy. Then Vaan and Tidus slid up to either side of Aqua.

"Hey babe, why you hanging around with this guy huh?" Vaan said, laying on the charm causing Aqua to blush slightly.

"Yeah we're way better than Sora." Tidus added.

"Hey!" Sora complained.

"Cut it out, you two." Penelo said as she slapped Vaan upside the back of the head. Wakka did the same with Tidus.

"Sorry about them. I'm Wakka, and that was Tidus and Vaan. Welcome to the Destiny Islands. First time ya?" Wakka asked as he bowed.

"Not really. I've been here before but it was a very long time ago." Aqua replied.

"Well no matter. I'm Serah Farron, I'm the oldest here. I've been coming to these islands for years." Serah said. (A/N: Serah is from Final Fantasy XIII. I do not own her or FFXIII)

"Well, ever since she first arrived here that is." Riku corrected.

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.

"Kairi and I arrived here at the same time so we practically grew up here on the islands. Kairi found out where she's from initially and I think I'm from the same place." Serah explained as Aqua looked at her curiously.

"Wait…Kairi? I know that name from somewhere." Aqua said.

"Did someone mention my name?" Kairi asked as she approached. She and Sora had been talking with each other prior to Aqua catching her attention.

"You're Kairi?" Aqua asked as Kairi nodded.

"Yes ma'am." Kairi replied respectfully. Aqua looked at her curiously.

"You're a Princess of Heart aren't you?" Aqua asked as Kairi looked at her surprised. Riku was surprised as well.

"How did you know?" Kairi asked as Aqua smirked and summoned her Keyblade.

"This is how. That…and we've met before. Once eleven years ago in Radiant Garden. I doubt you remember, you were only a small girl back then." Aqua said as Kairi looked at her in awe. Now Sora was interested.

"You knew me back when I lived in Radiant Garden?" Kairi asked in amazement.

"I did. You also gave me a bushel of flowers once." Aqua said as Kairi blinked in confusion.

"I did? Wait…" Kairi said as she held out her hand and in an instant the flowery Keyblade that Riku had handed in the Castle that Never Was appeared in her hand.

"Oh so that's what happened to the old Destiny Place Keyblade. I guess it's yours now, considering you're a Princess of Heart and all." Aqua said as Kairi looked at the Keyblade.

"I remember now. You…and the King…you both saved me from some kind of monsters…once long ago." Kairi said as the memories flowed back to her.

"Huh. Now how about that? Kairi and Aqua's paths have crossed before." Riku said as Aqua smiled at the youth.

"As a protector of Kingdom Hearts and all those that are associated with it, such as Kairi, we were destined to meet." Aqua said as Sora chuckled.

"And then meet again on the Destiny Islands." Sora added.

"How amazing. Just goes to show how this island gets its name. The destinies of people in every world somehow wind up starting, meeting up, or ending here or with someone from here." Selphie said as Penelo nodded.

"Oh, Aqua, I never introduced you to my best friend Riku." Sora said as Riku gave a courteous nod to the Keyblade Master.

"It's an honor." Riku said as Aqua gave him a nod in return.

"You never told me that you were friends with another Keyblade wielder, Sora." Aqua said before turning to Riku, "…and before you ask how I know, Riku, I can tell by your heart. Which…is rather…concerning."

"What is?" Riku asked.

"Your heart's been scarred by darkness. A very powerful and…familiar darkness." Aqua said as Riku looked away from her slightly.

"Oh yeah. Xehanort." Riku said as Aqua sighed.

"Xehanort? I was afraid of that." Aqua mumbled as she turned away slightly.

"Hey, what's with all the long faces all of a sudden?" Tidus asked.

"Ya! This is supposed to be a happy place!" Wakka added.

"We all know that Sora's okay and he brought home a blue haired babe. The fact alone that he was even able to pick up a girl and bring her home is worth celebrating." Vaan added, earning un-amused looks from Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Penelo, a silent red cheeked snicker from Aqua, and two smiling, shaking heads from Serah and Selphie.

**…**

Soon they were all walking down Main Street of the main island.

"So…what is there to do around here?" Aqua asked.

"What is there to do?! Is she seriously asking that question?" Tidus asked amused.

"I think she just did, ya?" Wakka replied.

"I thought you said you were here once a long time ago?" Serah asked.

"I was but that was eleven years ago." Aqua replied.

"Eleven years?! Dang you look awesome for your age. How old are you anyway? OW! What was that for?" Vaan asked upon receiving a slap upside the head from Penelo.

"Idiot, you don't ask a woman their age, it's impolite." Penelo replied.

"Since when has Penelo been a woman?" Tidus mumbled to Wakka and Riku. Wakka snickered while Riku rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"To answer your question, I'm technically still only nineteen. I suppose though that I'm probably thirty now. I was trapped in the Realm of Darkness that whole time and time flows differently there." Aqua explained as Riku nodded.

"I know the feeling." Riku replied.

"But seriously, she just asked what there is to do here! I say we roll out the unofficial Destiny Islands anthem." Tidus said, earning comments of uncertainty from the rest of the group.

"Oh come on guys, it'll be fun." Kairi pleaded.

"Yeah come on. Just once okay?" Sora asked as the rest of the group shrugged.

"Oh alright." Riku replied. A nearby street jazz ensemble, playing in the shade of a nearby building overhang in white and red striped outfits with matching straw hats overheard and the pianist gave a nod to the others. He then started plunking out a tune on his piano as the group walked past. (Music Cue: "Down in New Orleans" from Disney's Princess & the Frog)

Aqua was noticeably curious, but still amused as she tapped her foot in beat to the music and the rest of the band joined in. Finally Sora started singing…

_"In that great void, there's a city,_  
_way down on the water."_

Then he and the boys sang in unison…

_"Where the women are very pretty…"_

And the girls replied with…

_"…And all the men deliver."_

Then Riku started singing, pointing to the jazz band nearby…

_"We've got music,_  
_it's always playing."_

Then Kairi added…

_"Start in the day time, go all through the night._  
_When ya hear that music playing."_

Then Serah sang…

_"Hear what we're saying, it makes ya feel alright."_

Then Vaan added…

_"Grab somebody, come on down._  
_Bring your paintbrush, we're paintin' the town."_

Then Wakka threw in…

_"Oh there's some sweetness goin' 'round!"_

…as Tidus jumped in and added…

_"Catch it down in Des-ti-ny."_

Aqua laughed slightly at the antics of the two boys as Penelo shoved them both out of the way before Sora took back over, singing…

_"We've got magic…"_

As Kairi added,

_"…Good…"_

And Riku replied,

_"…and bad."_

Then it was Penelo's turn as she sang…

_"Make you happy but never really sad._  
_Get everything you want, more than what'cha had…"_

Then Serah added…

_"…Down here in Des-ti-ny."_

Aqua then felt Sora give her a friendly nudge as he sang…

_"Hey partner, don't be shy._  
_You came on down here, so give us a try._  
_If ya wanna do some living before we dive,_  
_do it down in Des-ti-ny."_

Sora said as Aqua chuckled. She then started marveling at some of the buildings downtown that were once stately houses and mansions by the looks of them. Kairi and Riku apparently noticed as Kairi started singing…

_" Stately homes and mansions…"_

And Riku added…

_"…of the Island Barons and Forgotten Kings."_

Finally Sora finished with…

_"Rich people, old people, we've all got dreams._  
_Dreams do come true in Des-ti-ny."_

(End Music).

"So…whaddya think?" Serah asked as Aqua smiled.

"I thought it was nice. Probably should be in a commercial or something." Aqua said with a laugh. None of them were aware that Pete was watching them from nearby with a mean smile on his face.

* * *

**End Chapter 6.**

The song above was an altered version of "Down in New Orleans" from Disney's "The Princess and the Frog." I call this new version "Down in Destiny."


	7. Down in Destiny Part 2

At Riku's suggestion, they had all purchased some sea-salt ice cream. They were all hanging out near the beach of the main island, watching the sunset. Aqua was talking with Tidus, Wakka, Vaan, Penelo, Serah, and Selphie while Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat off to the side, talking to each other.

"So you're saying that this guy's heart is inside your heart?" Riku asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. But we'll save him. All I have to do is become a true Keyblade Master like Aqua, and then find Ven's body so I can put his heart back inside it." Sora explained.

"It's probably going to be harder than you make it sound, Sora." Riku said as Sora shrugged.

"I dunno. Aqua's a good teacher. It did take me a while to learn to summon my Keyblade Rider though but Aqua said that once I get it right the first time, it becomes much easier the more I do it." Sora explained.

"Ya might want to work on your landings though Sora." Riku said with a smirk as Kairi giggled.

"Riku, stop teasing him. I'm just glad he's okay. He could have died out there on his own." Kairi said.

"Oh thanks for the vote of confidence, Kairi." Sora said sarcastically with a smile.

"I was just playing around, Sora. You know that." Kairi said as Sora nodded knowingly.

"So where are you going to go next?" Riku asked.

"Dunno. Aqua said that there were places that she needed to take me that would be worth visiting. I think I heard her mention on the flight here that she wanted to truly see my skills in action against a real opponent. I would have thought fighting Xaldin again would have been enough." Sora said, catching Riku's attention.

"Hold on, when did you face Xaldin? I thought you killed him back at Beast's Castle?" Riku asked.

"I did. But according to Roxas, the Xaldin I faced recently was something known as an-." Sora said as Riku interrupted.

"-an Absent Silhouette?" Riku asked as Sora and Kairi both looked at him curiously.

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"I spent a year working for Ansem the Wise. I learned things about Nobodies and the Heartless that you probably haven't even dreamed of." Riku answered.

"So do you think that we'll encounter more Absent Silhouettes?" Sora asked as Riku shrugged.

"Can't say for sure. But if you encounter that guy again, then you might encounter more." Riku replied. He didn't realize that his entire conversation had been overheard by Pete none the less.

"Oh, Absent Silhouettes you say hmm? Well two can play at that game bub." Pete snickered as he hobbled off, passing a tall man, about twenty one years old, with blond hair, hidden under a black bandana, and a stubble beard. He was wearing a long gray coat with a pair of gray pants and matching boots. He also had a long blue scarf wrapped around his waist and dangling down in front. He was approaching the group. Penelo noticed the man's approach and giggled.

"Oh Serah, you're fiancé's coming." She said in a sing-song voice, causing Serah to blush fiercely.

"Serah!" the man called as he walked up.

"Hi Snow!" Serah said as she turned and hurried up to him. Snow bent over slightly so they could kiss each other on the cheek.

"Who's that?" Aqua asked as Sora, Riku, and Kairi, joined the rest of the group.

"Oh that's Snow Villiers. He's Serah's fiancé. The adults all say that he was the first one Serah saw when she arrived on the island years ago." Vaan explained.

"I take it you all know him?" Aqua asked, still looking at the two.

"He's always friendly to the rest of us. He defends us when bullies try to mess with us, though that hasn't been necessary ever since Riku came back with a Keyblade. But he always flips the bill for us for ice cream whenever he's around. He kinda like a big brother to all of us." Tidus explained.

"Shhh here he comes." Selphie whispered as Snow and Serah approached arm in arm.

"I hear someone bought ice cream and didn't tell me." Snow said with a laugh and a friendly smile as he approached. Vaan laughed and held out a stick of ice cream to Snow who chuckled.

"Aw thanks buddy." Snow said taking the stick before noticing Aqua.

"Well hello there. The name's Snow, Snow Villiers." Snow said, extending a hand which Aqua promptly shook.

"I'm Aqua. I'm Sora's Keyblade Master." Aqua said as Snow looked at her with an impressed expression.

"A Keyblade Master huh? Hey if Sora doesn't behave for ya, just let me know okay?" Snow said as Aqua chuckled and Sora groaned.

"Oh come on Snow. She could kick both our butts if she wanted to." Sora replied.

"Yeah but you know how I like busting your chops Sora." Snow said with a friendly smirk.

"Snow, be nice." Serah said with a giggle.

"Watch it Sora, looks like Snow's got your number." Riku chuckled.

"I take it that you've got it pretty hard around here huh Snow?" Aqua asked.

"Around here? On the Destiny Islands? Please." Snow scoffed.

"Yeah, nothing ever happens around here, ya?" Wakka said with a laugh. Without warning the ground shook violently, only proving that one should never invoke Murphy's Law, even in jest.

"What was that?!" Vaan asked as everyone looked around. Then Kairi spotted something.

"Look!" She exclaimed, pointing towards the islet where a giant black creature appeared looming over the islet. Sora and Riku both recognized it immediately. It was the Darkside Heartless.

"What is that thing?!" Serah asked as she held onto Snow.

"It's the heartless that attacked the islands a year ago!" Riku exclaimed as he, Sora, and Aqua summoned their Keyblades.

"We need to stop it before it finds the keyhole!" Sora exclaimed.

"Where is the keyhole here exactly?" Aqua asked as Sora and Riku gave her dumbfounded looks before pointing towards the islet.

"Guess!" Riku said before Aqua quickly summoned her Keyblade Rider without the armor.

"Sora, let's move! Riku stay here and make sure everyone here is safe!" Aqua ordered as Riku nodded. Sora summoned his Keyblade Rider and they both flew off towards the islet.

"Come on; let's move before something worse shows up!" Riku ordered as he turned towards the rest of the group only to see someone he didn't expect to see.

"Well if you're saying that now then I'd say it's a bit too late for that!" Pete laughed menacingly. Riku didn't miss a beat and lunged straight at the servant of darkness. Pete quickly leapt out of the way of Riku's attack.

"Oh you're fast alright, but let me tell you this. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the Mighty Pete!" Pete laughed before he snapped his fingers and a large swarm of Shadow Heartless appeared between him and Riku. Pete laughed again. "Try and get past that mister Heartless Hero!"

"Let me give it a try!" Snow shouted, plowing his fists into a few heartless, defeating each one he hit with a single blow. He grinned at the dumbfounded Pete. "And that was just for starters!"

"And so were the Heartless." A voice said from out of nowhere. The voice caused a chill to run down Riku's spine.

"I know that voice. I've heard it before!" Riku exclaimed as a figure in tattered gray Organization robes approached with a stagger in his step.

"Friend of yours?" Snow asked Riku.

"Definitely not." Riku said, gritting his teeth. Pete looked at the guy curiously.

"Say, you're the guy who sicked those Absent Silhouettes on the Keyblade boy and that girl. Don't suppose you could do it again could ya?" Pete asked as Riku and Snow prepared themselves.

"What? Who? Augh, my head!" the man asked confused. Riku quickly raised his Keyblade and leapt at the man with an enraged yell as the man put his hands behind his back. In a bright flash Riku came down on him only to discover a long black Keyblade with menacing spikes on it, pressing against Riku's Road to Dawn Keyblade. The sudden gust of wind from the attack caused the man's hood to fall back, revealing a tanned face with stark white hair kept in three backward spikes, two dangling bangs that framed his face, and a pair of different colored eyes. His left eye was amber-gold while his right was a sparkling blue but there was a hint of amber-gold in that eye as well. Riku was in disbelief at the sight of this man the man known simply as…

"(Gasp) Xehanort!" Pete exclaimed, trembling in utter shock and disbelief. Riku shoved himself away from Xehanort as he staggered slightly.

"Who?" Snow asked. Riku turned to him with a face that obviously belied fear.

"Run! Take the others and RUN!!!" Riku ordered. Snow turned to Serah and gave her a nod.

"You heard him, Run!" he shouted to her. Serah nodded back and she and the rest of the group turned and ran down the beach, away from them. Xehanort clutched the sides of his head in agony, dropping the Keyblade.

"What's going on Riku?!" Snow asked as Pete laughed.

"You're looking at the creator of all Heartless! Xehanort! The Dark Lord of the Heartless!!!" Pete laughed as Xehanort threw back his head in an agonized scream, causing an upward burst of dark magic to erupt from the ground beneath him. This caused two gray and black spheres to appear in midair on either side of him. One sphere had the image of a book appearing and reappearing within it while the other had the picture of a shield with a strange cold white mist circling around it. They were Absent Silhouettes.

"Whoa I like your style. But there are others who want to meet ya! So long boys, hope you enjoy playing with your new friends!" Pete laughed as he put his hands on Xehanort's shoulders before summoning a Corridor of Darkness around them and disappearing. The two Absent Silhouettes suddenly morphed into two black hooded figures. They pulled back their hoods, revealing themselves as Vexen and Zexion.

"Oh boy, Snow! I told you to run!" Riku shouted.

"I ain't backing down from a challenge!" Snow replied.

"And neither am I!" a familiar voice said. The two turned to see a figure run up between them with the Destiny Place Keyblade in her hands, ready to fight.

"Kairi?!" The two men exclaimed in disbelief. Zexion proceeded to lift up and opened his Lexicon, known as the "Book of Retribution" and proceeded to create several clones of himself, each wielding the Road to Dawn Keyblade. Vexen held out his hand and in a light blue flash of light, his shield, known as "Frozen Pride" appeared in his hand.

"Augh! Kairi! Help Snow!" Riku grunted as he started battling Zexion and his clones. Snow and Kairi turned towards Vexen who stood ready to fight them.

"This time, I'll fight!" Kairi said before she and Snow charged at the Chilly Academic.

**…**

Meanwhile, Sora and Aqua arrived back at the islet just as Darkside approached the waterfall where the secret entrance to the secret cave and the Keyhole sat.

"Hey ugly!" Aqua shouted at the giant heartless but Darkside ignored her. Sora ran past her with his Keyblade raised. He quickly hurled a Blizzaga blast at Darkside's back. That caught its attention. Darkside turned around towards them and raised its fist before swinging it down at Sora. Sora rolled out of the way, causing the fist to slam into the ground and create a puddle of dark clouds around where it hit. Shadow Heartless started to pour out from the clouds, running towards the two Keyblade wielders. Aqua cartwheeled into action, delivering a fierce swipe and destroying several Heartless in one swing. She then leapt up towards Darkside's face and hurled a powerful Firaga blast at its head. The blast caused Darkside to topple over onto its back. The small cloud of darkness disappeared.

"YEAH! No one messes with us!" Sora cheered as Aqua landed next to him.

"It's not over yet Sora!" Aqua said as Sora stopped cheering and saw why. Darkside was starting to climb onto its feet and looked down menacingly at the two Keybearers.

"Oh boy." Sora said. Darkside raised its fist over its head, a massive sphere of dark energy appearing around its fist. Sora gulped, none of his spells would be able to reach the sphere unless he got dangerously closer. Aqua immediately started hurling powerful magic attacks at the towering heartless, one after another, until finally she started glowing with a white aura and floating in the air.

"Sora! Stand back!" Aqua ordered as she entered into her Magic Wish Command Style. She immediately flew straight up into the air and fired a strange bullet of white light magic from the tip of her Keyblade at the sphere of dark energy mere seconds before Darkside would have swung it down. The magic bullet caused the sphere to explode right next to Darkside's head, injuring it severely. Sora noticed the heartless was now weakened from the attack and quickly charged up to the monster's feet, attacking it's legs with a series of fierce slashes as Aqua entered Ghost Drive and started delivering a series of fast and unpredictable attacks to the creature's head, leaving afterimages behind after each attack, making it seem like there were dozens of Aqua clones in the air around the Heartless's head. Finally the Heartless had taken all it could and started glowing with energy that seemed to radiate upwards. It threw back its head and let out a roar as Sora and Aqua regrouped.

"We've got it now Sora! Let's deliver the final blow!" Aqua said as Sora nodded.

Aqua and Sora grabbed each other's left hand, facing opposite directions. They then started channeling their energy together before they separated and a powerful whirlwind of energy appeared, swirling around them both. They both turned towards Darkside and leapt apart, literally flying around to opposite sides of the Darkside to where they were facing each other. They both reared back their Keyblades and flew straight at it, their Keyblades both glowing with a white light. They came together in a flash of blinding white light and when it faded the two had swung their Keyblades straight forward and had passed each other by, instead cutting completely through the towering Heartless. Darkside let out an agonized roar as it started to disintegrate. Sora and Aqua landed on either side of it, looking up as the giant monster started falling apart. Without warning its entire left arm broke free from its body and started plummeting towards Aqua. Sora saw it happen as Aqua stood watching in silent awe.

"AQUA WATCH OUT!!!" Sora shouted as he leapt at her, shoving her out of the way mere seconds before the arm came down on him. Aqua sat up from where she landed, staring in horror as she saw the arm seemingly crush her apprentice.

"SORA! NO!!!" She screamed as she watched the entire beast dissolve into dark ashes, releasing a large glowing pink heart in the process. The arm dissolved too, and much to Aqua's relief Sora lay apparently unharmed but unconscious where the arm landed.

"Sora! Sora are you okay?! Speak to me!" Aqua begged as she quickly picked him up, cradling him in her arms as she endeavored to wake him up. He let out a half conscious moan and cracked his eyes briefly. Aqua looked at him worriedly as she held onto him. Suddenly in a flash of light she briefly flashed back to something that happened eleven years ago. She was holding Ven the exact same way only Ven had been frozen solid and his helmet broken but he was still alive as she could see his eyes moving. As fast as the vision came, it vanished causing her to gasp.

"Ven." She whispered as she hugged Sora close. Just then she heard someone calling her name.

"Aqua! Aqua!" she turned around and saw Serah approaching quickly from a rowboat just off shore with Tidus, Wakka, Penelo, Vaan, and Selphie close behind and each looking worried.

"What? What is it?! What's going on?!" Aqua asked as she climbed up onto her feet.

"It's Snow! And Riku and Kairi! They're fighting!" Serah wheezed as she caught her breath.

"Fighting?! Fighting who?!" Aqua asked as she looked at the group.

"They're fighting a couple of strange guys in black robes and strange powers! You've got to help them and quick!" Serah said as Aqua stepped back slightly in surprise.

"Right, but Sora's unconscious, I need the lot of you to stay with him and keep him safe until he wakes up." Aqua said as the group nodded.

"You can count on us." Penelo saluted. Aqua started walking towards the beach as she held up her Keyblade and in an instant the Keyblade rider appeared. She then hopped on before flying back towards the main island.

"Do you think she'll make it?" Selphie asked as they watched Aqua fly back.

"I hope so." Tidus said.

"Aww she'll win for sure." Serah said as they all turned to see Serah with Sora's head on her lap, gently stroking his hair.

"She'll win…I know she, and Riku, and Snow, and Kairi will all win." Penelo said with her arms crossed assuredly.

"Um, not trying to cast doubt on her but what makes you all believe that?" Tidus asked. The three girls looked at each other with a knowing smile.

"Because we could see it in her eyes. She wants to reunite with that Ven fellow and her hope and faith that she will reunite with him has been rekindled." Selphie replied, earning confused looks from the three boys.

"I'm not sure I follow." Vaan said.

"Simply put…Aqua is in love." Serah replied as they all watched the main island intently.

* * *

**End Chapter 7.**


	8. Down in Destiny Part 3

On the main island, Riku was battling the Zexion and his clones singlehandedly while Snow and Kairi battled against Vexen. Snow flew in with a fierce punch but Vexen raised his shield just in time for Snow's fist to plow into it with a loud crack. Snow cringed before he leapt back to where Kairi was standing.

"Did you break his shield?" She asked as Snow cradled his fist.

"Nope but I'm pretty sure I just broke my hand." Snow replied as Kairi quickly raised her Keyblade and took a battle stance. Vexen silently smirked before aiming the front of his shield at her. The shield started glowing bright blue causing Kairi and Snow to step back worriedly. Just then Vexen fired a beam of white and blue energy from the shield straight at the two Destiny Islanders. Kairi quickly flinched with her Keyblade in hand mere seconds before the beam hit. She and Snow stood motionless as if waiting for the beam to hit but when they finally opened their eyes and looked they saw that a reflega spell had appeared and had deflected the beam entirely, but that wasn't the biggest surprise of all. Standing before the two of them was a girl with long blond hair and wearing a beautiful white dress and blue sandals with her arms stretched straight out to the sides. Kairi immediately recognized her.

"Namine?!" Kairi asked in shock as Namine lowered her arms and turned with a smile and a nod before turning transparent and disappearing. Kairi then heard Namine whispering in her ear.

"_I have given you as much of Sora's fighting and magic knowledge as I got from his memories a year ago. Use it to defeat this Absent Silhouette."_ Namine's voice echoed as Kairi blinked in silence for a moment before she narrowed her eyes determinedly and dropped into a fighting stance mirroring Sora's exactly. Snow then felt his hand suddenly heal as green cloves and vines of magic appeared and then disappeared over him. Kairi had used Cura on him though he didn't know it.

"Come on Snow, we need to do this together." Kairi said as Snow grinned and cracked his knuckles. Kairi charged in at Vexen who raised his shield to block but Kairi slid around to the other side and dealt a fierce blow to his back. Vexen roared in pain before swinging his hand at her and leaving a series of ultra sharp ice sickles aimed at her in midair. Kairi quickly dodge rolled out of the way as the sickles flew at her but thankfully missed as Snow charged forward for an attack of his own. He started throwing punches at Vexen while he was distracted and managed to strike the Chilly Academic in the jaw. Vexen spun around before shaking his head and driving the bottom tip of his shield into the ground. The shield proceeded to freeze the ground beneath him, Snow, and Kairi. Vexen snarled up at them as a ring of sharp and jagged spikes of ice burst up from the ground around him and then two trails of ice needles started heading straight towards the two. Snow and Kairi started trying to run away from them but the ice needles kept following after them as they ran. They quickly came together as Kairi threw up a Reflera shield just in time for the needles to smash into the shield bubble and stop. The spikes around Vexen shattered as he snarled at them. He was about to attack again but this time Snow and Kairi attacked first. Snow grabbed a hold of his shield as Kairi started glowing with bright white light, the brightest spot on her chest. She then charged forward and in a bright horizontal flash of light cut clean through both the shield and Vexen, sliding to a stop opposite the side she had charged him from. Vexen's shield promptly shattered as he dropped to his knees and started to turn transparent, sobbing all the while in agony until only his anguished cries echoed away on the wind.

"Kairi are you alright?!" Snow asked as they both caught their breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you? Are you okay?" Kairi asked as Snow nodded.

"What about Riku?" Snow asked as he looked up to where Riku and the Zexion clones were fighting.

"Looks like he could use some help." Kairi said as she picked up her Keyblade and was about to charge into the fray but Snow stopped her.

"I don't think that's going to be necessary, Kairi." Snow said as Kairi looked back at him curiously.

"Wha-why?" She asked as Snow pointed towards the islet. Kairi looked carefully and saw a streak of blue light flying straight towards them. It was Aqua on her Keyblade Rider. She flew up and over the crowd of Zexion clones before leaping backwards off the rider which quickly transformed back into a Keyblade in her hands as she plummeted down headfirst into the fray. She quickly righted herself in midair, landing on her feet, back to back with Riku as he tried his best to fight them all off.

"This was much easier when I had the power of darkness helping me!" Riku grumbled over his shoulder.

"Never let yourself give into the darkness Riku! Let me help you out!" Aqua said as they stared down the clones.

"Where's Sora?" Riku asked.

"He's unconscious but he's alright. He's in good hands right now." Aqua replied as she pressed her hand to the armor piece on her shoulder, becoming fully clad in her armor. The two Keyblade wielders stared down the countless clones until Riku chose one in particular and focused in on it. He quickly leapt forward with his Keyblade raised but the clone dissipated in a wisp of black smoke. Aqua turned and quickly threw up a reflega shield around both her and Riku as four of the clones descended down upon each of them with replicas of the Road to Dawn Keyblade but the bolts of light that scattered out from around the reflega domes caused each attacking clone to dissipate in a wisp of black smoke.

"What are you trying to do Riku? You're going to have to let me in on the plan!" Riku heard Aqua's voice say but Riku knew better, he knew it was one of Zexion's illusions to try and figure out his strategy. He silently scanned the group of clones searching for something. Finally he spotted a clone in particular and lunged at it causing the others around it to dissipate and the clone he lunged for to hold up the lexicon and block the attack. It was the real Zexion.

"Aqua!" Riku grunted as Aqua quickly fired of a barrage of magic attacks at Zexion, enough so that she was able to enter her Magic Wish command style. She quickly barraged it once more but this time with Thundaga attacks. Before she could deliver the final spell, Zexion broke free and created a plethora of new clones, each holding Aqua's Keyblade.

"You think that my attack has to connect with the original for this to work?!" Aqua asked defiantly as she fired one final Thundaga attack at a hapless clone and in an instant the afterimages of Aqua appeared in a scattered pattern all around Riku. Just as quickly, the Zexion clones vanished leaving the original just as Aqua's Ghost Drive ended. Riku quickly lunged at the original, his attack shattering through the lexicon and delivering a painful swipe down the center of Zexion's chest. Zexion grunted painfully and staggered back, his Lexicon's pages falling out rapidly and dissolving into dust until the book's cover was all that remained and it too turned to dust. He took a deep breath and sighed as he gave a silent and respectful nod to his two opponents as he turned transparent and disappeared. Aqua and Riku caught their breath as they watched Zexion disappeared. Aqua's armor returned to the shoulder guard and she dismissed her Keyblade.

"Well…that was unexpected. Even and Ienzo…what were they thinking?" Aqua asked no one in particular, earning a confused look from Riku.

"What? Even and Ienzo? The former apprentices of Ansem the Wise? Vexen and Zexion's others?" Riku asked, catching his breath as he dismissed his Keyblade.

"Vexen and Zexion? Is that their Nobody names?" Aqua asked back as Riku nodded.

"Yeah. I take it that you've been informed about the Nobodies and Organization XIII?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, Sora and the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee told me about both them and the Heartless." Aqua explained.

"Good. Those were two more Absent Silhouettes so now Vexen and Zexion are permanently gone." Riku said as Aqua nodded. She then looked at Riku with a thoughtful gaze.

"What is it?" Riku asked.

"You mentioned during the battle that the last time you faced Zexion, that you had the power of darkness helping you. You also mentioned back on the islet that Xehanort was the name of the darkness that had possessed you. What do you know of Xehanort?" Aqua asked curiously.

"Well I know he was here in the flesh for a moment before Pete took him away." Riku replied, causing Aqua to look at him in disbelief.

"Xehanort was here?! The real Xehanort?!" Aqua asked in shock as Riku nodded.

"He was. Though…he wasn't exactly as I envisioned him. He looked the way I expected but he…he didn't act the way I thought he would. He acted…confused…almost as if he had amnesia. He was conflicted; I could tell it in his heart that there was something about his heart that was causing his confusion." Riku explained as Aqua looked a little hopeful.

"Confused? You mean like he was struggling to maintain control or something?" Aqua asked as Riku looked at her curiously.

"You know something that you're not telling me…don't you?" He asked as Aqua sighed and nodded.

"I do. Come here Riku, I think I should probably let you in on Xehanort's secret." Aqua said as she and Riku walked off, leaving Snow and Kairi behind. They looked at each other and shrugged, clueless.

"Come on. Let's go make sure Sora's alright." Snow said as he and Kairi headed for the shoreline.

* * *

**Hours later…**

Sora let out a soft groan as he rubbed his eyes. He then could hear a familiar woman's voice singing softly to him… (Music cue: "Serah's Theme" from Final Fantasy XIII)

_"Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside._  
_Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure."_

Sora knew the song, it was a song that he had heard Serah sing to him and the other kids to keep the calm during a bad storm that hit the islands one day, trapping them on the islet.

_"Battles we can win, if we believe our souls._  
_Hang in for the light, till dawn."_

He started opening his eyes and he saw Serah smiling down at him as she sang softly.

_"Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you._  
_Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere."_

Serah smiled at him as he sat up and stretched.

"Morning ya lazy bum." Sora heard Kairi tease from nearby with her arms crossed.

"How long was I out? Is everyone okay? Did we win? Are the islands still there?" Sora asked as Tidus laughed.

"Man he sure does ask a lot of questions when he wakes up." Tidus said.

"To answer your questions, Sora…Two hours, yes, yes, and yes." Snow said with a smirk as Sora looked around curiously. Everyone was there except Riku and Aqua for some reason. He recognized his surroundings and realized he was on the islet.

"Where's Riku and Aqua then? Last thing I remember was saving Aqua from being crushed by one of the big Heartless's arms as it died." Sora said as the others shrugged.

"Aqua took Riku somewhere to speak privately about something. I don't know what it's all about but I'll wager it has something to do with that white haired guy with the Keyblade that showed up and summoned those two weirdoes with the black robes." Snow explained.

"White haired guy with a Keyblade? Guys with black robes? Uh oh, sounds like more Absent Silhouettes." Sora said ponderingly.

"That's what Aqua said they were." Kairi said.

"Then who's the guy with the white hair?" Sora asked.

"From what that big fat guy said before grabbing him and taking him away, his name was Xehanort and-." "XEHANORT?!?! Are you serious?!" Sora exclaimed, interrupting Snow's answer.

"Why does everyone freak out when his name gets mentioned?" Selphie asked.

"Because! He's the guy who created the heartless and technically the nobodies! His heartless and nobody are the ones that I've faced and defeated on my adventures. His heartless is the one who possessed Riku for a time but fortunately Riku found his light. Xehanort's alive? Oh man this can't be good." Sora said worriedly.

"Don't worry Sora, you'll find a way to keep him from winning." Kairi said reassuringly, putting her hand gently on Sora's back.

"Thanks Kairi." Sora said as he blushed and looked away from her.

"So what's your plan now?" Wakka asked.

"I don't know. I'm just following Aqua's guidance. She's my master so she technically calls all the shots." Sora said with a shrug. They didn't notice as Aqua and Riku approached from the other side of the islet.

"Well, as much as I would love to stay, Sora and I have to get going. The recent turn of events has made that quite clear." Aqua said.

"Hey Riku, maybe you can come with us, learn to become a Master yourself." Sora suggested as Riku smirked.

"Love to, can't. Someone has to stay here and protect the islands and Kairi from the heartless. Although Kairi doesn't need much protecting after she helped Snow beat Vexen's Absent Silhouette." Riku said as Aqua nodded.

"Besides, I can only train one apprentice at a time right now. I can't train two and travel at the same time. When this is all over, then perhaps I can take you on, Riku, but just not yet." Aqua said as Riku nodded understandingly.

"Perhaps we should consider relocating to Radiant Garden for a while. We can find additional protection with the Restoration Committee and be there for whenever Sora comes for a visit." Kairi suggested.

"Not a bad idea, but we'll need to find a way to get there." Riku said as Sora looked thoughtful.

"We'll find a way to send you a gummy ship…and I know just who to ask. We should probably check up with him anyway just so he knows the situation." Sora said.

"Who?" Aqua asked.

"The king of course. King Mickey Mouse." Sora replied, earning a surprised look from Aqua.

"Mickey?! He's still around?!" Aqua asked excitedly.

"Of course. I thought you knew already." Sora said as Aqua took a great sigh of relief.

"Well that's good to know. We probably will have to go and check on him. We'll head there right away." Aqua said as Sora rejoiced.

"Alright!" Sora cheered.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye again, Sora." Kairi said with a smile on her face but Aqua could tell that Kairi was saddened at the thought.

"Don't worry Kairi, I'll be back sooner than you think." Sora said as she quickly hugged him. Riku walked up and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"Take care Sora. I'm holding you to what you just said. Come back to us." Riku said with a smile.

"I will, Riku. I will." Sora said with a nod as Kairi let him go and quietly walked away. Sora and Riku watched her walk off before Sora turned to his friend.

"Take care of her Riku." Sora said as Riku nodded.

"I will. You have my word." Riku replied.

"Do what you can to improve her skill with a Keyblade, Riku. She may need it in the near future." Aqua added as Riku nodded.

"You got it." Riku said as Sora and Aqua slowly turned towards the beach and summoned their Keyblade Riders with their full armor on. Sora looked over his shoulder towards his friends, all giving reassuring smiles at him as he climbed onto the Keyblade Rider. Sora sighed softly before turning to Aqua who gave him a soft and understanding nod.

"We'll be back here soon enough, Sora. Don't worry." Aqua said as their Riders started to slowly climb up and into the sky, leaving the Destiny Islands behind. Kairi watched with a smile before she allowed a small tear to run down her face. She then started to walk back towards the sideways tree with Riku not far behind. The others started to disperse leaving only Serah and Snow behind.

"Poor girl." Serah said as she sadly watched Kairi sit down on the sideways tree, catching Snow's attention.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"She told me a short while after Sora left that she doesn't know if he loves her or not. She doesn't know what he even thinks of her as. With Aqua's appearance, I'll bet that she's even more confused. If only there was some way to tell Sora about the way she feels for him." Serah said as Snow sighed and put his arm around her caringly.

"Sora never has caught on has he? His heart is usually in the right place but like you say, he probably doesn't even know." Snow said as Serah thought to herself.

"Perhaps…we need a vacation." Serah said.

"What?" Snow asked as Serah smiled up at him. She had a plan.

* * *

**End Chapter 8.**

The song above was the Japanese released version of "Serah's theme" from Final Fantasy XIII. The American and Japanese versions are different, true, but they're both sung in English. I like the Japanese one better than the English, simply because it flows better (in my opinion.) Oh and I do not own it.


	9. Hail to the King

"Pete failed in exterminating that accursed brat." The eloquent man's voice said smoothly.

"Yes but he found a very interesting new friend. One with the power and knowledge to destroy EVERYTHING!!!" the insane man's voice cackled.

"Silence! Now is not yet the time to rejoice in this victory." Maleficent declared.

"So when do we get to play our hand?" the deep bass man's voice asked.

"Soon enough. For now, you shall all return to your assigned worlds. When you see the boy and the girl, you know what must be done. Put an end to them, crush them, take their hearts, and secure our position as the rulers of the worlds." Maleficent instructed as there was a small chorus of grumbles from the villains in the shadows along with the shuffling of feet as they departed. Hades and Maleficent were the only ones left. Pete however entered close behind with a confused looking Xehanort close behind.

"Wow, talk about your small worlds. It's been quite a while since I've seen you." Hades chuckled sinisterly, earning an impatient look from Maleficent.

"Hades, show your respect." Maleficent said as Hades grinned and with a wave of his dark hand, created a lollypop shaped like a white skull.

"Aww I was just trying to make conversation with the sucker. In fact here's a sucker for the little sucker right? Here ya go-." "Do you take me for a total fool Hades?" Xehanort interrupted with a dark glare, snapping quickly out of his confusion. Hades recoiled as Maleficent smiled in a sweet yet clearly evil smile.

"Xehanort, it has been far too long. For all these years, you finally return to reclaim the worlds in the name of Darkness." Maleficent said as Xehanort glared darkly at her.

"I haven't the time or the patience for the envenomed blade of your flattery Maleficent. I expected upon my return to see the worlds enshrouded in darkness. But what do I see upon my return? NOTHING!" Xehanort yelled as he slammed his fist on the table before him. He then staggered back slightly, his voice shaky as he put a hand to his forehead.

"I have not been well lately. I must lie down for a moment. I will wish to speak with the loyal servants of Darkness later." Xehanort said as he staggered off and out of the room, leaving Maleficent, Hades, and Pete alone.

"Gosh, he sure seemed pretty upset." Pete said worriedly.

"Silence, you imbecile." Maleficent hissed as she turned to the sphere in the center of the room. With a wave of her hand the sphere shifted and in an instant it showed Sora and Aqua on their Keyblade Riders passing through the world barrier of Disney Castle.

"It would seem that they're heading straight for the land of the mouse." Maleficent said as Pete humphed.

"Typical." Pete said, earning a dark glare from Maleficent. Hades by now was just standing off in a random corner of the room with his arms crossed.

* * *

**In the courtyard of Disney Castle…**

Goofy lay slumbering on his back in the shade of the castle shaped hedge in his knight's armor. So he didn't notice two figures appear towering over him.

"Typical. The captain of the guard, asleep at his post." Aqua said crossing her arms.

"Well this place is well protected from bad guys like the Heartless after all. He's probably got it really easy." Sora said as Aqua shrugged.

"Yeah I suppose you're right. But still, don't you think it would be fair of us to wake him up?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah I suppose so." Sora said as he started shaking Goofy slightly.

"Hey! Hey Goofy! Come on, wake up buddy!" Sora said as Goofy yawned and cracked his eye open slightly before closing it back.

"(Yawn) Five more minutes Sora." Goofy mumbled sleepily as he started dozing back off. Aqua looked at Sora with a concerned look.

"Ya think we should try something more noticeable? Like lightning?" Aqua asked as Sora motioned to wait with a wink. On cue Goofy's eyes shot open. He quickly sat up, looking straight at Sora. He rubbed his eyes once before he let out one of his trade mark "ah-hyucks."

"Sora! It is really you! How've ya been pal?!" Goofy exclaimed as he hugged the young Keybearer as Aqua watched with a smile and a suppressed giggle.

"I'm great Goofy. Where's Donald? And where's the King? We've got something to ask him." Sora said as Goofy paused.

"We?" He asked as Sora motioned to Aqua. Goofy looked at her curiously for a moment.

"This is Aqua. She's my Keyblade Master. Aqua, this is Goofy." Sora introduced.

"Hmm. I know I've seen ya around before ma'am but uh my memories ain't what they used to be." Goofy said as Aqua nodded knowingly.

"It's alright. I'm sure it'll come back to you." Aqua said as Goofy walked towards the doorway to exit the courtyard.

"Come on. I'll take ya to the King." Goofy said as Sora and Aqua followed along. As soon as Goofy rounded the corner of the doorway, Goofy let out a startled yelp followed by a crash as he tripped and fell…on Donald. Donald sat underneath him in his wizard's robes, rapping his fingers impatiently on the cobblestone ground as he waited for Goofy to get up off of his back.

"Goofy!" Donald grumbled as Goofy picked himself up.

"Gawrsh, you okay Donald?" Goofy asked as Sora and Aqua quietly picked the duck up off the floor. However Donald proceeded to go into one of his temper tantrums for a moment before suddenly freezing mid-rant and looking up at Sora, then at Aqua. He smiled sheepishly.

"WAAK! Sora! It's you!" Donald exclaimed as he hugged his friend.

"Good to see you too Donald. Let me introduce you to Aqua, my Keyblade Master." Sora said as Donald turned to Aqua.

"You look familiar." Donald said, scratching his head.

"I'd hope so. We've met before. You even helped me out a few times eleven years ago." Aqua answered as Donald pondered.

"Eleven years ago? Gawrsh that's a long time." Goofy said as Donald nodded.

"Yeah kinda like those people the King mentioned in his letter to Sora." Donald laughed as Aqua looked at them with her arms crossed.

"Yeah just like one of the people from the King's letter to Sora." Goofy laughed. The two both continued laughing, Aqua just tapping her foot patiently, until the two suddenly stopped laughing and turned towards her nervously.

"You were saying?" Aqua asked. The two almost instantly recognized her.

"WAAK!!! Aqua! One of Master Eraqus Apprentices!" Donald exclaimed.

"We're sorry we didn't recognize ya! It's just been so long!" Goofy added as Aqua endeavored to calm the two down.

"Guys-guys-guys! It's okay! It's okay! No harm done." Aqua said as the two finally settled down.

"So…wait you knew each other then?" Sora asked as Donald and Goofy nodded.

"Yeah, we knew her back when she traveled the worlds looking for the bad guys." Goofy said with a smile.

"And don't forget Ven…and Ter-." "Donald!" Aqua interrupted, gaining the wizard's attention.

"We're kinda in a hurry. Could we get an audience with the King?" Aqua asked as Donald and Goofy looked at each other then nodded.

"Sure. Just follow us." Goofy said as they led them to the throne room. They opened the two large doors, revealing the grand and glorious throne room. As the four entered the throne room they noticed King Mickey sitting on the throne with Queen Minnie sitting next to him at his side. Pluto sat comfortably on the floor to Mickey's right with Jiminy Cricket sitting at a small desk off to the side. Almost immediately the trumpets let out a fanfare.

"Presenting, Lord Sora, chosen wielder of the Keyblade! And Lady Aqua, Master of the Keyblade!" a voice introduced from out of nowhere. Sora and Aqua politely and respectively bowed and curtsied as they reached the throne.

"Your majesty." Sora said as Mickey hopped off his throne.

"Sora! You got my message!" Mickey said delightedly as Sora smiled.

"Yes sir. I've even found Aqua here trapped in the Realm of Darkness and freed her as well as help her regain her Keyblade and armor. She's now my Keyblade Master." Sora explained as Aqua blushed slightly.

"It's good to see you again your highness. I feel like it's only been a few days but I know it's been years for you." Aqua said as Mickey smiled up at her.

"Aw gosh. Aqua you don't have to call me your highness. Just plain old Mickey Mouse is fine enough. Same goes for you too Sora." Mickey said as Sora put his hands behind his head thoughtfully.

"I dunno if I can get used to that." Sora said.

"Well then just call me whatever makes you feel comfortable." Mickey said as Sora nodded.

"Alright then your highness." Sora replied causing Minnie to let out a quiet giggle.

"Oh goodness. I just knew that you would come, Sora. But Mickey and I never knew you would find one of the three lost people so quickly." Minnie said as she approached.

"Well I just kinda washed up on shore and there she was. Wait, there were three people?" Sora asked as Mickey and Minnie looked at each other curiously for a moment. Donald and Goofy did the same while Jiminy scratched his head. Aqua took a deep sigh.

"Well sure. How many did Aqua tell you were missing?" Mickey asked.

"Just Ven. Oh yeah that's right, Yen Sid said that there were three. Aqua, Ven…who's the third?" Sora asked as Mickey nodded and turned to Jiminy.

"Jiminy?" Mickey said as Jiminy picked up one of his journals but Aqua stopped him.

"Jiminy, wait." Aqua said as Sora turned curiously to Aqua.

"Master…who is it? What's his name?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed and nodded.

"His name was Terra. He was kinda like our Riku. The three of us were good friends. More than just friends…we were brothers and sister…all by bond, not by blood. Terra and I fought each other in the Master's Qualification Exam…but he didn't pass because of rather disheartening circumstances. Ven was too young to take the Exam but that didn't matter. Ven's and my friendship with Terra slowly started to crumble and darken. Things started looking up near the end though until…" Aqua said as she let her sentence drop off and she turned away slightly.

"Until…what? What happened to him Aqua?" Sora asked as he reached out to touch her shoulder but was stopped by Mickey's gloved hand. Sora looked over at the King who shook his head somberly. Sora then heard Aqua choke back a tear. He then realized what had happened as Aqua dropped to her knees, crying into her hands.

"Oh…Aqua…I'm so sorry. I didn't realize…I didn't mean to bring it up." Sora said apologetically as Aqua dried her eyes.

"It's okay Sora. I never meant to keep that a secret from you. You would have to find out eventually. It's just that…Terra's in a very dark place right now and we need to try and free him." Aqua said as Sora furrowed his brow.

"Free him? I thought he was dead." Sora said as Aqua's head jerked up slightly as if startled. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Dead? I never said he was dead…Well…his body at least is still alive but…well. Perhaps that's something you'll just have to find out for another time…when you're ready." Aqua said as Sora lowered his head slightly and nodded.

"You're right. Maybe I'm not ready to know where he is. I need to become a Master first before freeing him from…uh wherever he is." Sora said with a determined smile. Aqua chuckled with a smile as she turned towards him, still kneeling on the floor.

"You're getting to be more and more like Ven the longer I know you." She said as she stood up and looked down at the King.

"But we didn't come here to rehash old times. We came here to ask if you wouldn't mind sending a gummy ship to the Destiny Islands to pick up Riku and Kairi and take them somewhere safe." Aqua said as Mickey smiled and nodded.

"Sure we can!" Mickey said before he turned to Donald and Goofy who immediately stood at attention.

"Donald! Goofy! Go down to the Gummy Ship garage and tell Chip and Dale to ready my gummy ship. We're going to the Destiny Islands." Mickey said as Donald and Goofy looked at each other curiously then back at the King.

"Uh your majesty, shouldn't we go with Sora?" Goofy asked as Mickey shook his head.

"Sorry fellas, not this time. Sora's got Aqua to travel with and he's got some things he's got to learn along the way. He's got to learn these things from a true Keyblade Master like Aqua here." Mickey said as the two nodded sadly.

"Hey don't worry guys. Maybe we can travel together on our next adventure. Though by the next time I'll be a true Keyblade Master." Sora said with a reassuring smile. Donald and Goofy both seemed to cheer up at that. They then turned and hurried towards the Gummy Garage. Sora and Aqua then turned back towards the King.

"If there's anything that the two of you need to do before you leave. Feel free to do it now. Pluto will show you two around if you need help." Mickey said as Pluto barked in agreement.

"Thanks your highness, but I don't think there's anything more we can do here. So I guess we'll just be going for now." Aqua said as Mickey nodded understandingly.

"It's okay. The darkness doesn't wait for the light, so why can't it be the other way around?" Mickey asked with a smile. Sora was about to say something but before they could they heard a loud crash come from outside.

"What was that?!" Minnie asked fearfully.

"It sounds like it came from the gardens!" Aqua said as she and Sora summoned their Keyblades. Mickey followed suit.

"Then let's hurry up and get outside to see what's going on!" Mickey said as the three charged towards and out the large double doors. As they reached the balcony they slid to a halt against the banister railings and their jaws dropped open at what they saw. It was a giant swirling blue portal hovering in midair over the castle hedge but inside the portal was what appeared to be a desolate desert landscape with towering stone mesas.

"What is that?" Sora asked in awe.

"It looks like…no it can't be…can it?" Aqua asked disbelief.

"Can't be what?" Sora asked.

"The…the Keyblade Graveyard?" Aqua whispered to herself. Just then they heard a strange sound on the winds. It sounded to the normal ear like a strange metallic hiss or a metallic resonance in the distance, but to Sora, Aqua, and Mickey, three Keyblade wielders they heard a voice…

"_Aqua…Ven…"_

The voice said as the world within the portal started swirling with a thick cloud of strong brown dust.

"What was that?" Sora asked but Aqua and Mickey remained silent as the voice spoke again.

"_Aqua…Ven…I feel your hearts." _The voice said with its metallic sounds.

"What do you think we should do?" Sora asked as Aqua stared on in awe, her heart pounding.

"We…we need to go inside." Aqua said as she leapt over the railing with Sora close behind.

"Mickey. Stay here in case we need you." Aqua said as she and Sora approached the portal. The voice spoke again.

"_Aqua…Ven…I can feel your light."_

"Sora…" Aqua gulped nervously, "…take my hand."

Sora complied silently as they stepped into the portal and instantly they found themselves in the middle of an empty and dry desert surrounded by the towering mesas that they saw in the portal…which was now mysteriously missing.

"Wha-?! Mickey! Mickey where did you go?!" Aqua asked as she noticed the portal was gone.

"Uh, Aq-ua." Sora said, his voice shaking. Aqua turned back around as a swirling brown wind appeared in front of them. Sora and Aqua shielded themselves from the wind and the sand, their eyes shut. They then felt the winds die down and fall still. They slowly opened their eyes and lowered their arms. Their eyes widened at what they saw before them. It was a suit of gold, black, and brownish red armor, not at all unlike Aqua and Sora's own, kneeling on one knee with a long flowing brown cape behind it. Standing straight up in the ground before the armor was a large and long brown Keyblade with gold lining and a blue guard around the hilt with the armor's hands on the top of the Keyblade. Sora and Aqua were stunned silent, Aqua recognized the armor instantly. Then they heard the metallic sounds of the strange voice.

"_Aqua…Ven..."_ the voice said. Sora instinctively summoned his Keyblade and adopted a battle stance, completely unsure of what to do. Aqua didn't notice but the strange voice did as it said…

"_Keyblade? Who are you?" _The voice asked. Sora again too confused to speak. Aqua was too stunned to speak. The voice however spoke again…

"_I can feel it…we have met before. It was when before…"_ The voice said. Sora stood still, still not sure what to do. It then felt as if there was something piercing straight through his chest to his heart and he had a suspicion that it was the armor suit kneeling before them. He became even more confused as the voice spoke again.

"_No…it isn't you…It isn't you that I have chosen…"_ The voice said causing Aqua to finally notice Sora and her heart started pounding even harder.

"Sora…Uh…" she whispered nervously but the voice interrupted but the metallic tones seemed deeper and more menacing as if the voice was becoming angry.

"_Why is it not him?"_ The voice asked in a deeper tone. Aqua froze solid as the voice spoke once more.

"_Xe…ha…nort…is that you?" _the voice asked in what sounded like an angered tone.

"Sora…that armor…" Aqua whispered, "I know whose it is."

"Whose?" Sora whispered but the voice interrupted and a metallic rattle was heard from the armor.

"_Xeha…nort…"_ the voice said in an increasingly angry tone as the rattle from the armor turned out to be the armor itself starting to stand up on its own.

"That armor…" Aqua whispered as she summoned her Keyblade and dropped into her battle stance, "…belongs to-."

"_Xehanort!" _The voice, or rather the armor, said in great anger as it stood up fully, its chest plates moving somewhat rapidly as if someone was breathing heavily in anger from underneath and it's helmet pointed directly at Sora as if it were staring at him. It then grabbed the Keyblade in front of it by the handle and pulled it from the ground, taking a battle stance. The armor suddenly charged at them, leaving a trail of dust behind them as it flew. But the two Keyblade wielders were ready for battle as they charged right at it in response.

* * *

**End Chapter 9.**


	10. Lingering Sentiment & Be Prepared

(A/N: For this battle scene, I'm mentally hearing the track "Rage Awakened" from the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix OST.)

The armored warrior flew straight at them, its Keyblade raised, and its cape flapping behind it. Aqua and Sora quickly dodge rolled and cartwheeled out of its path respectively. The armor slid to a stop before turning back towards Sora and just as quickly charged at him. Sora quickly dodge rolled out of the way again. Once more, the armor blew past him and slid to a halt before turning and charging once more. Once again however Sora dodge rolled out of the way again. The armor slid to a halt again and "glared" angrily at Sora. Sora took it as his opportunity to strike and quickly charged forward, however the armor raised its Keyblade and with a single swing across its front, sent a massive series of curved streaks of light at Sora as it swung the Keyblade so fast that no normal eye could see it, only the streaks of light it made in the air and there were too many streaks to count.

Sora was forced to quickly block, pushing against his Keyblade with all his strength as the blows constantly connected with the Keyblade. Without warning a sudden barrage of colored spheres of light flew in and smashed into the armor, knocking it away. Another barrage quickly followed and then another. Sora turned and saw Aqua floating in midair with her Keyblade raised. The rattling of the armor could be heard as it quickly started climbing to its feet.

"_That attack. I know that attack."_ The metallic voice echoed before the armor charged at Sora yet again but this time Aqua cartwheeled in between both it and Sora, summoning her armor as she counterattacked with a reflega spell, causing the armor to be knocked back and then hit by the bolts of light from the reflega.

"Sora! Your armor! Activate it now!" Aqua ordered as Sora quickly complied, quickly pressing his hand to the shoulder piece and causing the armor to surround him. Almost instantly the other suit of armor charged again. Sora instinctively attacked, landing several sudden blows to the other armor in quick succession as it blew past him. He then suddenly started glowing with a white light, causing Aqua to do a double take.

"_Speed Rave? It can't be! That's Ven's…oh right."_ she said mentally before Sora charged at the armor but much faster than usual. This time however the armor was ready for them and it immediately started attacking again, swinging the Keyblade at ultra fast speeds, leaving the streaks of light like last time but miraculously Sora dodged and evaded every single one. He then started dealing several countless, rapid, and successful blows to the armor before it leapt backwards and up into the air with its Keyblade raised. Aqua's eyes widened from underneath the helmet as she realized what it was doing.

"Oh no! SORA, LOOK OUT!!!" Aqua shouted as Sora, the glow around him now gone, turned towards her confused. He then quickly turned back to see the armor's Keyblade suddenly grow to a massive size and the teeth and blue guard spinning like fan blades in all directions as the armor slung the oversized weapon onto its back.

"_It's too late; he's already locked on to Sora. I've got to stop him before he fires!"_ Aqua said mentally as she quickly charged at the armor with her Keyblade raised. She started barraging it with magic attacks, Firaga, Thundaga, and Blizzaga in quick succession, causing her to enter the Magic Wish Command Style. She started to hover in midair with the Keyblade floating with her as she quickly started to attack the armor but instead it turned the massive weapon towards her and fired a massive blast of magic. The blast sent her flying into the side of one of the mesas. The armor and a well timed reflega spell took the brunt of the damage but it was still enough to knock her unconscious. The armor then turned to Sora who stood ready to fight whatever it sent at it. The armor started to glow with a reddish aura and caused a circular pattern to appear on the ground beneath it. Four pillars of white light shot up from the ground around it for a brief second before the armor charged at Sora, swinging the Keyblade viciously at the young Keyblade wielder who had no choice but to dodge out of the way of the massive Keyblade.

Just when he thought the armor would let up for a moment, the armor paused in midair as electricity crackled around it for a moment and then it continued its attack. Sora continued dodging, using his glide ability to escape the armor's attacks. The armor nearly caught up with him and summoned a spinning magic circle with sharp teeth to appear around it like a large circular saw, but fortunately Sora dodged that too. He looked over his shoulder to see the armor causing the electricity to crackle in the air around it again before it suddenly lunged at Sora but he quickly blocked the blow. The armor proceeded to vanish into thin air before reappearing in a split second nearby and still charging at Sora. Sora quickly blocked that blow too but the armor teleported again but reappeared overhead. The armor came crashing down towards Sora who just narrowly dodged the attack but when the armor hit, it suddenly unleashed a flurry of attacks with the Keyblade, catching Sora off guard and slamming him into the ground. Fortunately the armor absorbed most of the damage. Sora's helmet crumbled away, revealing his frightened face.

The armor reared back its Keyblade to deliver a final blow but before it could, Sora noticed his Keyblade just within his reach. He grabbed the Keyblade, holding it backwards in his hand and holding it across in front of him in a defensive posture, closing his eyes and shielding himself in preparation for the final blow but the armor didn't move. It stood deathly still, as if frozen in time. About that time Aqua came running up, her armor stored back in the shoulder guard. When she arrived she saw why the armor had stopped. Sora was glowing with a white glow and instead of Sora's face; it was replaced by Ven's face, flinching in fear. Aqua froze, her mouth hanging open in silent wonder. Finally Ven's face faded away, revealing Sora's own as the glow disappeared. The armor lowered the Keyblade to its side as Sora slowly opened his eyes. He quickly scrambled up onto his feet, backing away a short distance while keeping his eyes glued to the armor as it stared at him. Aqua quickly hurried up to stand by Sora's side, still unsure of what was going to happen next. Finally the armor's metallic voice spoke again.

"_I see…your strength is…What I sensed in you…"_ The armor said as it lowered its head slightly as if in thought. It then planted the Keyblade back into the ground in front of it like before and then knelt down before them silently, allowing the wind to gently blow past. Just then another whirlwind of sand and dust blew in, surrounding the armor suit. Sora and Aqua shielded themselves from the winds until it died down. They opened their eyes to see that the armor had vanished completely, Keyblade and all. They looked at each other confused but out of the corner of their eyes they saw that the swirling blue portal had returned.

"So…what was that?" Sora asked softly.

"That was…that was…Terra." Aqua said softly, receiving a confused look from Sora.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"That was Terra's Sentiment." A voice behind them said. They turned around to see that King Mickey had entered through the portal.

"Terra's what?" Aqua asked.

"His Lingering Sentiment. Master Yen Sid explained it all to me. Terra lost his heart to the darkness, but his armor held onto his thoughts and will, allowing it to fight in his stead. What you fought was only Terra's thoughts and will, trapped within his armor and Keyblade. I imagine that it's been trapped here for years in this world. I imagine that your presence caused that portal to open since it's was Terra's will to escape from here and accomplish his mission." Mickey said as Aqua pondered but Sora looked a little confused.

"Mission? What mission?" Sora asked curiously.

"Long ago," Aqua started to explain, "Terra, upon failing the Masters Qualification Exam, was sent to go defeat a bunch of bad guys similar to the Heartless called the Unversed. He was also sent to find a Keyblade Master who mysteriously went missing. Ven disappeared shortly after him. I was sent to go keep Terra on the path of light and to keep him from falling into darkness. I was also supposed to try and bring Ven back home at the request of my Master, Master Eraqus since Ven was too young to leave on his own at the time. We never succeeded in our missions. Terra succeeded in destroying the Unversed but at great cost. I sacrificed my Keyblade and armor to save him from falling completely into darkness but Ven…poor, poor Ven. He lost his heart completely but his body remained, like an empty shell. I took him to the ruins of our home, and hid his body there."

"So then…what happened to Terra's body after he fell into darkness?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged.

"I…don't really know. Yen Sid said that he was difficult to see, which meant he was still around just shrouded in a lot of darkness." Aqua replied.

"Then we'll find him. We'll find him and bring him back." Sora said with an optimistic smile.

"You mustn't lose hope. If you lose hope, then you lose everything." Mickey said as Aqua nodded.

"I know. We'll succeed. But we can't dawdle. We need to keep moving." Aqua said as she walked towards the portal, followed closely by Mickey and Sora. They emerged into the garden of Disney Castle, the portal closing and vanishing behind them, as Donald and Goofy hurried up to them.

"The Gummy ship is all set your majesty!" Goofy said with a salute.

"Then I guess it's time for us to be moving on. You'll be sure to pick up Riku and Kairi won't you?" Aqua asked as Mickey nodded.

"You can count on us! Oh and before you go, be sure to come back later because our Million Dreams Celebration starts soon okay?" Mickey said as Sora and Aqua looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure, we'll be back in time for that." Sora said as Aqua crossed her arms with a proud smirk on her face.

"Ven, Terra, and I won the Million Dreams award eleven years ago, so it should be a cinch for the two of us this year. Right partner?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded enthusiastically.

"You bet!" Sora said.

"Gosh, sorry to see you all go so soon." Goofy said sadly.

"Hey come on guys. I'll be back soon enough for a visit. Remember, the gummy ship is powered by happy faces. Right?" Sora asked as he bent over slightly, giving them the grin he gave them upon their first meeting. Aqua, Donald, and Goofy each laughed at his expression.

"Aw it's just not gonna be the same without you Sora. But at least we have his majesty to protect and that job is very important." Donald said as Sora nodded.

"Yeah I know. Group hug?" Sora asked as the two quickly glomped Sora for a moment before backing away. Aqua had already summoned her Keyblade Rider and was waiting in her armor without the helmet for Sora to finish. He had soon summoned his Keyblade Rider and armor and had jumped onto the Rider. Aqua's helmet reappeared on her head as she climbed onto the Rider and they both took to the stars.

"You've grown more powerful, Sora." Aqua said as they flew.

"You think so?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Definitely. You may not realize it but you used a Command Style." Aqua said as Sora looked at her curiously, though she couldn't really tell anything through his helmet.

"I did?" He asked.

"Didn't you feel a sudden rush of power at all during the fight? That was one of the first tier Command Styles you entered. It was one of Ven's called "Speed Rave." Aqua explained.

"Huh. So that's what that was. I guess that means I'm getting close to being a master." Sora said.

"Close, but you've still got a bit to learn before you're a true Keyblade Master." Aqua replied.

"So where are we going next?" Sora asked.

"We're going to the best place I know to help you practice and grow stronger with your newfound skill. Olympus Coliseum." Aqua said as Sora looked at her in surprise.

"I've been there twice! It'll be great to see Hercules again!" Sora said as Aqua laughed.

"Then by all means…lead the way." She said as they streaked through the stars towards Olympic Coliseum.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The dark figures finished watching Sora and Aqua depart Disney Castle and the sphere in the center of the room proceeded to shrink down and vanish. The room was better lit this time, revealing the villains in more detail. Hades was absent however.

"Well well, it seems that they're on the move again." Pete said with a smirk

"If I wanted the opinion of a lowly worm, I would ask for it." The snobbish man said. He wore light, golden colored armor with purple robes underneath it. His hair was blonde and spiked, with an extra-long ponytail. On his chest plate were black and white stripes tracing his ribs, and on his waist and back were demonic looking faces. His gauntlets sported extended claws. He also wore purple make up on his eyes and lips. He also seemed to be wearing a purple crown.

"Why Mateus, why ask for advice when you can know your future?" Dr. Facilier, (Princess and the Frog) a slick looking dark skinned man with a small mustache wearing a tuxedo with tails over a purple vest and a tribal necklace. He also wore black pants, black wing tipped shoes, and a tall black top hat with a skull and crossbones insignia on it. He held out a fist full of cards to the eloquently dressed man.

"Get this disgusting worm out of my sight." Emperor Mateus (Final Fantasy II) said with a roll of his eyes. Judge Gabranth (Final Fantasy XII), an armored man then approached the annoyed monarch. Gabranth wore gray and silver armor with a helmet with curved horns, and a black cape with an unknown insignia on the cape in red. Gabranth stared down at Dr. Facilier who slinked away.

"That's right Facilier, back away from the lowly worm. **HEE**-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!!!" Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI) laughed. Kefka wore an outfit composed of primarily red and yellow fabrics, a mismatched jumble of stripes and polka-dots. He wore a red and white striped ruffle around his neck and a red cloak with a yellow and red inner-lining. His face was covered with white make-up with red make-up around his eyes. He had blonde hair tied back into a tight ponytail, accentuated by a feather extending from it.

"Oh yes, it is quite amusing!" Madam Mim, (Sword in the Stone) a short pudgy and ugly looking woman with bright pink hair cackled with a snort. She wore a purple peasant's shirt with a long pink skirt.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." Emperor Mateus grumbled.

"Why won't he say anything?" Gabranth asked, motioning to the lone figure standing off to himself in the shadows. The figure noticed the question, and started to emerge from the shadows, revealing himself to be none other than…

"I have no reason to involve myself in this foolish game." Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) said with his usual dark and calm voice.

"So we have noticed." a voice said from the edge of a balcony overlooking the lot. They looked up to see Xehanort standing with a dark smile on his face and his hands clasped behind his back. He had changed clothes and was now wearing a white and black cloak with a red inner lining, a white shirt, black boots and white gloves. He looked exactly like his old heartless now save for a few small and hardly noticeable differences.

"Ah, Master Xehanort. Did you rest well?" Maleficent asked as the Lord of the Darkness smiled sinisterly down at them.

"Oh I did indeed. But I have noticed a severe lack of effectiveness from the lot of you." Xehanort said as his smile vanished.

"It's not our problem. That meddling little brat with the Keyblade keeps interfering with our plans!" Pete replied as Xehanort rolled his eyes.

"Well then now your plans shall succeed beyond your wildest dreams. For you see, I know of the key to our success. The Key to everlasting darkness. Kingdom Hearts." Xehanort said, earning the attention of the other villains.

"Ooh-who-who-who, I like what I'm hearing. Tell us more!" Kefka grinned.

"Yes, tell us more oh Master Xehanort." Mateus said respectfully, causing Xehanort to arch a curious eyebrow with a sinister smile. (Music cue: "Be Prepared" from Disney's Lion King.).

"I never thought you all would yield to my ascension, since you're so crude and unspeakably plane. But maybe you've got some potential, if allied to my vision and brain." Xehanort said, earning a curious look from Mateus. Xehanort then waved his hand and an eerie green glow appeared from along the walls and around the rim of the table. Xehanort leapt down onto the table, shattering the sphere in the center and sending up a cloud of smoke.

_"I know that your powers of retention_  
_are as wet as a warthog's backside."_

Xehanort sang as the smoke dissipated. He then turned to Dr. Facilier who was playing with his deck of cards.

_"But thick as you are, **pay attention**!_  
_My words are a matter of pride."_

Xehanort sang, swatting the cards out of Facilier's hands. He then turned to Kefka and waved his hand in front of his face, noticing the hypnotized expression on the Mad Mage's face.

_"It's clear from your vacant expressions_  
_the lights are not all on upstairs._  
_But we're talking kings and successions._  
_Even you can't be caught unawares!"_

Xehanort sang, pointing at Pete accusingly, causing him to cower behind Judge Gabranth. Xehanort started to turn to each of the villains as he sang…

_"So prepare for a chance of a lifetime,_  
_be prepared for sensational news._  
_A shining new era_  
_is tiptoeing nearer."_

Then Gabranth asked curiously…

"And where do we feature?"

Xehanort grinned at him and replied…

_"Just listen to teacher._  
_I know it sounds sordid_  
_but you'll be rewarded_  
_when at last I am given my dues._  
_An injustice deliciously squared!_  
_Be prepared!"_

Then Facilier grinned and nodded.

"Yes be prepared! Oh we'll be prepared…uh for what?" Facilier asked as Xehanort smiled.

"For the death of those Keyblade warriors!" Xehanort replied with a grin as Kefka arched a curious eyebrow.

"Why, are they sick?" Kefka asked causing Emperor Mateus to roll his eyes.

"No fool, we're going to kill them. That mouse King too." Emperor Mateus replied, making Kefka and Madam Mim look exhilarated.

"Great idea! Who needs a king?!" Mim asked with a laugh as she and Kefka started dancing around singing "No King, no king, la-la-la-la-la-la!"

"IDIOTS! There will be a king!" Mateus yelled at them angrily.

"But you just said-." Gabranth said, insulting Mateus. Mateus was about to say something when Xehanort cut back in.

"_**I**_ will be King! Stick with me and you will never have a thirst for power again!" Xehanort declared as he jumped back up to his balcony and the green lights turned yellow. The crowd of villains started cheering, save for Sephiroth who just smirked silently, Pete who cowered slightly, and Gabranth who did nothing. The others then shouted, "Long live the king! LONG LIVE THE KING!!!"

Then they started singing in unison…

_"It's great that we'll soon be connected,_  
_with a king who'll be all-time adored."_

Xehanort grinned as he watched the villains conspiring around the table and he caught all of their attention as he replied…

_"Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected_  
_to take certain duties on board."_

Xehanort sang as he ran his finger across his throat with a sinister grin.

_"The future is littered with prizes,_  
_and though I'm the main addressee,_  
_the point that I must emphasize is…"_

Xehanort said as he leapt back down onto the table with his black and thorned Keyblade summoned and aimed directly at Mateus as he yelled angrily…

**"YOU WON'T GET A SNIFF WITHOUT ME!!!"**

Then with a wave of his hand the table started lifting upwards and towards the ceiling which opened up to reveal a star lit sky above. Xehanort sang as the table continued rising…

_"So prepare for the coup of the century!_  
_Be prepared for the murkiest scam!_  
_Meticulous planning,_  
_tenacity spanning,_  
_decades of denial,_  
_is simply why I'll,_  
_be king undisputed,_  
_respected, saluted,_  
_and seen for the wonder I am!_  
_Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared!_  
_Be prepared!"_

The Villains quickly joined him around the edges of the roof as they all sang…

_"Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared!_  
_Be prepared!"_

Xehanort then threw back his head as he started cackling manically upwards towards the sky.

* * *

**End Chapter 10.**

The song above was "Be Prepared" from Disney's the Lion King, which I do not own.


	11. Olympus Coliseum Part 1

Sora and Aqua flew in low and landed gently on the sand covered ground in the commons area of Olympus Coliseum. Their Keyblade Riders and armor quickly vanished as they looked up at the newly rebuilt coliseum from after the Hydra had devastated it.

"This place is practically the same as I remember." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"In looking at it now, you would never have known that this place was an absolute wreck when I saw it last." Sora said, earning a curious look from Aqua.

"Really? What happened?" Aqua asked.

"Oh, a big giant monster destroyed it while Hercules wasn't around. I wonder where he is right now though." Sora said as Aqua looked at him with a surprised smile.

"Hercules? You know him?!" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yep, he's a true hero now. He would have become a god for it but he chose not to." Sora explained as Aqua smiled up at the two tall statues on either side of the lobby doors.

"That's good to hear. When I knew him, he was just a teenager and a hero in training. I'm glad to see he's done so well for himself." Aqua said as she looked around.

"Say, you didn't happen to run into a guy with spiky hair while you were here did you?" Aqua asked, still looking around.

"You mean Cloud? Yeah this is where I first met him." Sora replied as Aqua shook her head.

"No, his name wasn't Cloud. His name was Zack." Aqua replied as Sora shook his head.

"Nope. Sorry. Never met anyone named Zack." Sora said as Aqua nodded understandingly.

"It's okay Sora. I don't expect you to know everyone from my past. Perhaps Hercules or his nanny goat can tell us." Aqua said as Sora snickered.

"You mean Phil? Yeah maybe." Sora shrugged as they started walking towards the lobby doors. Aqua paused as they reached the doors. Sora stopped and turned to her with a curious expression.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked. Aqua didn't answer, instead turning slightly to look behind them. Sora turned too and they both saw something unexpected. Two people, a woman about as old, if not slightly older than Aqua and a young boy about Sora's age, perhaps even a year younger. The woman had long, light pink hair and blue eyes and she wore a light brown turtleneck shirt along with a necklace with a lightning bolt pendant underneath a white soldier uniform. There was a green metal plate over her left shoulder with two glowing yellow stripes, a long flowing red cape attached to her back on the left side, and a brown belt around her waist. She also wore two blue gloves with gold plates over the knuckles, a long black sleeve over her left arm that began from her bicep, and a brown mini-skirt. She also had a hidden pair of black shorts on under the skirt. She had a storage pack attached to her skirt and left leg, and she wore two knee-high leather boots. In her arms, was what appeared to be a shining polished silver metal combat rifle of some sort.

The boy had silver hair and greenish gray eyes. He wore an orange and yellow coat, a detailed green scarf over a black shirt, black gloves with white palms though the thumbs remain black but the left glove had a yellow wristband over it, deep green pants that stopped just below the knees, a black storage pack on his left leg, and light green shoes with black laces and straps. The two newcomers came to a stop about halfway between the entrance to the underworld and the doors to the lobby, the pink haired woman staring silently at Aqua and Sora with an emotionless stare. The boy didn't seem to regard them much until he noticed the woman's glare.

"Why is she…staring at us?" Sora whispered to Aqua.

"I'm…not really sure." Aqua replied.

"Maybe we should go greet them. You know, be friendly." Sora said as Aqua shrugged.

"I don't see why not." Aqua said as they turned and started approaching the two strangers.

"Hello there!" Sora called out with a wave. The boy smiled up at the woman.

"I think they're friendly, Light. Don't know what that other guy was talking about." The boy said as the woman glanced down at him for a moment.

"Mmm." Was her only reply and that in itself was open to interpretation. Aqua and Sora came to a stop before the two.

"Hi, I'm Sora and this is my Master, Aqua." Sora introduced as the boy smiled and gave him a nod.

"I'm Hope, and this is my friend and protector, Lightning." The boy introduced as the woman regarded the two with only a single nod.

"So what brings you two here?" Aqua asked.

"We're here to compete in the games." Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) replied as Hope (Also Final Fantasy XIII) nodded.

"Really? So are we." Sora said.

"Mmm." Lightning replied.

"Light's not really herself right now. See she's trying to find her sis-OW!" Hope grunted as Lightning slapped him upside the head.

"That's none of your business. Now if you will excuse us, we need to go and register for the games." Lightning said as she elbowed her way past Aqua and Sora towards the lobby doors. Leaving Hope behind.

"What's her problem?" Aqua asked curiously.

"Eh, she's just a little focused right now. We were told if we win the games we'll find someone that's close to her." Hope explained. Just then they heard Lightning yell…

"Hope!" She yelled. They turned to see her looking squarely at Hope with a glare that made Hope and Sora both cower slightly.

"I better go. See you guys in the games!" Hope said as he hurried to catch up with Lightning. Sora and Aqua both looked at each other curiously.

"What was that about?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged.

"Come on, we better go and register ourselves." Aqua said as they headed into the lobby. As soon as the doors closed behind them, a cloud of black smoke appeared and as it dissipated, Hades stood looking at the doors to the lobby with a sinister smirk on his face. 

**Inside the lobby…**

Sora and Aqua entered just as Phil finished signing up Lightning and Hope. Hercules, Megara, and Pegasus were nowhere to be seen.

"Alright that's Hope Es-…Es-…eh, how do you pronounce your last name?" Phil asked Hope who rolled his eyes.

"Estheim. Hope Estheim." Hope said as Phil nodded.

"Right, Hope Estheim and Lightning…uh…" Phil said, looking at Lightning who only shot the satyr a death glare. Phil got the message and hid behind his clipboard.

"Okay, alright, the two of you are now officially entered in the games. The arena's right through that door there." Phil said as the two turned and entered the arena.

"Sheesh, tough lady. Okay NEXT!" Phil shouted as Sora and Aqua walked up. Phil was looking at the clipboard and didn't even bother looking up at them.

"Name?" Phil asked.

"Aqua." "Sora." The two introduced one at a time but with cheeky smiles on their faces.

"Right-right. Aqua and Sora. Alright you two are-…" Phil said as he froze midsentence and lowered the clipboard. Sora and Aqua were standing casually with the same expressions.

"Oh very funny you two wise guys. Hey junior hero, you a true hero yet?" Phil asked Sora who was about to answer but Aqua interrupted.

"He isn't yet but that's what I'm here to help him do. I'm training him to become a true…hero." Aqua said, hesitating to use the term Keyblade Master in the instance.

"Well trust me lady, this kid can take all the help he can get." Phil said as Sora wrinkled his nose in offence.

"Hey!" he whined.

"Cool it kid, ya can still compete in the games. Your competition just went inside the arena." Phil said as Aqua pondered.

"I don't suppose that you happen to know what happened to a guy named Zack. He competed here about eleven years ago." Aqua said as Phil scratched his head.

"Zack…Zack…nope don't remember him at all. But I remember you though. You came through and beat up ol' Hades and his Ice Titan. Quite a mean feat if you ask me. This kid ain't even beaten a single Titan on his own. He's always got the help of some couple a wise guys with 'em to help him out." Phil said as Aqua folded her arms over her chest.

"Now hold on, Sora's fully capable of handling himself. Give him some credit already will you?" Aqua asked.

"He can have credit after he finishes four simple words. Win. The. Games!" Phil said as Aqua rolled her eyes at the satyr's mathematical skills…or lack thereof.

"Then where's Hercules? Is he here?" Sora asked as Phil shook his head.

"Nah sorry kid. The champ's takin' a vacation with that broad of his. He's earned it after all. Becomin' a true hero then rebuildin' this whole coliseum on his own! Yeah that's worth the down time." Phil answered.

"What about Auron? Is he still here?" Sora asked as Phil shook his head.

"The dead guy with the sword? Nah, he went back to the underworld after Herc finished rebuildin' the coliseum. Haven't seen him since." Phil said as he hopped off the podium and towards the arena doors.

"I guess we should probably head out there huh?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded and they both started heading out into the arena. They walked into the sunlit arena that was empty as usual. They looked around and saw Lightning and Hope standing off near a metal grating along the right wall. Phil then walked to a podium in the center of the arena and hopped up onto the top.

"(Ahem) The games will begin in thirty minutes!" Phil announced before he hopped off and walked back into the lobby.

"Thirty minutes? That's probably enough time to discuss your training, Sora." Aqua said as Sora looked up at her curiously.

"Really?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"We should probably discuss the Command Styles now that you've stumbled upon them. Sound good to you?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"You bet!" Sora said as they both summoned their Keyblades and walked to the center of the arena. Almost instantly a few target barrels magically popped up from the ground.

"Okay, let me go over the basics of the Command Styles. To activate a Command Style, you first have to repetitively use a certain type of magic spell. For example, constantly using Fire based magic will cause you to enter the Fire Blazer Command Style. The way you know when you're close to unleashing a Command Style, is when you feel a buildup of energy inside your heart. You never know what kind of Command Style you'll unleash until you activate it by focusing that energy into your Keyblade." Aqua explained as Sora raised his hand.

"So, you can't predict what Command Style you will release?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"No but you can try and release a particular one. You can do that by using one particular type of magic spell over and over again, like I said. I should probably mention that there are three general use Command Styles that are available to everyone with a Keyblade. Fire Blazer, like I said, which is achieved by constant fire magic. Fire Blazer is very versatile and is always handy in a pinch. Diamond Dust, one of my favorites, is achieved by using ice based magic and is good for dealing with crowds of enemies. Finally there is Thunder Bolt, which is achieved by using thunder based magic and causes powerful lightning damage when hitting an enemy. Any questions?" Aqua asked as Sora shook his head.

"Good, then maybe you should try using a few by attacking these barrels here." Aqua said as she quickly moved behind him.

"Which should I try first?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged.

"It's up to you Sora. Remember, once you use a particular type of magic, keep using that magic until you feel the energy build up inside your heart and then release it into your Keyblade. Give it a try." Aqua instructed as Sora turned to the barrels. He then aimed his Keyblade and cast Blizzaga which caused the barrel to shatter but immediately be replaced by another barrel. He then started to quickly unleash Blizzaga after Blizzaga at the other barrels until he suddenly felt a cold surge of power in his heart. As instructed, he channeled the power to his Keyblade and he started glowing with a bluish aura.

"Well done Sora. Now try the other two styles and when you're finished, come back to me and we'll move on to what I call the Specialty Command Styles." Aqua said as Sora nodded and started attacking the barrels with new fervor. He leapt into the center of a whole cluster of barrels before stabbing the ground with his Keyblade and causing a powerful blast of ice to burst from the ground around him, shattering each of the barrels around him. He then leapt into the center of another set of barrels before swinging his Keyblade and causing four large spheres of ice to burst from the ground and spin around him at high speed, smashing the barrels to pieces. From the sidelines, Hope was watching with his jaw hanging open.

"Whoa! Would you look at that kid go, Light?!" Hope said.

"Mmm." Lightning replied. She wasn't even watching him. Just leaning against the stone wall, looking distant.

"Come on Light, don't tell me that's not impressive." Hope said as Lightning turned towards him.

"Keep watching him." Lightning said, confusing the youth.

"Huh?"

"Keep watching him. Analyze his moves, his strategies, his every action. If we have any hope of beating him at the games then we're going to have to know his weakness. That's if he has one that can be exploited on the battlefield." Lightning said, not noticing the blue flames appear in the shadows of the barred side area behind them.

"Oh I love the sound of conspiring in the afternoons." Hades said, startling the two.

"Hades." Lightning said to the Lord of the Underworld.

"Heh-heh, yeah hello kids, having fun yet?" Hades asked slyly.

"The games haven't even started." Hope replied.

"Why are you here? We made our deal and I intend on fulfilling my end of it. Defeat Hercules at the games and in exchange, you let both Serah and Hope's mother go from the underworld." Lightning said as Hades grinned and pinched her cheeks, irritating the woman.

"Such a keeper. Well there happens to have been a teeny-tiny little change in the deal. Ya see those two out there? Yeah that's right the two-brainless-kids-with-the-fancy-sticks. Well instead of Hercules, I want you guys to defeat them." Hades said as Lightning and Hope glanced at Sora and Aqua, Sora having now mastered Fire Blazer as he incinerated barrel after barrel with his Keyblade.

"Seems easy enough but what aren't you telling us? Where's Hercules?" Lightning asked as Hades shrugged.

"The lazy bum is taking a vacation but those two little twerps there are enough of a challenge…perhaps an even greater challenge than old 'jerk-ules." Hades said.

"So we just beat them and we get what you promised us, right?" Hope asked as Hades grinned.

"Badda-bing! He gets one right! Ah-heh-heh. Well I better go find a good seat. Don't want to miss all the action." Hades said with a dark laugh as he disappeared into the shadows. Hope looked up at Lightning with a worried expression.

"I don't like this, Light. I just keep feeling like there's something…wrong about us dealing with this guy." Hope said as Lightning looked down at him.

"If it brings Serah back from the underworld, then I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I would have thought you would feel the same way about your mother?" Lightning said as Hope looked downward towards the floor, kicking at the dirt slightly.

"Well…of course I would. But something tells me that dealing with this guy…I just have a bad feeling is all." Hope said as Lightning knelt down on one knee, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Hope, we've come this far together. This is the best lead we've had in a long time. It's our only option." Lightning said as Hope sighed and nodded.

"I know. I'm ready to do what it takes to bring my mom back." Hope said. Lightning smiled slightly as she stood back up.

"Good. We're going to have to defeat these two in the games. I'm going to rely on you to help me defeat them. They may not look like much but they're probably tougher than they look. You think you can handle it?" Lightning asked as she turned to continue watching Sora and Aqua. Sora was just mastering Thunder Bolt and laying waste to the barrels. Hope looked up at her with a determined expression.

"It's not a matter of can or can't. There are some things in life that you just do." Hope replied as Lightning smiled down at him.

"Now you're learning." Lightning said as they continued to watch the two Keyblade warriors. Sora had finished fighting with the barrels and approached Aqua.

"You're skills are improving, Sora. I'm impressed." Aqua said with a smile.

"I'm ready for the next part of the lesson, Master!" Sora said as Aqua chuckled and nodded.

"Alright then. Like I said, those were the three basic Command Styles, the one everyone with a Keyblade can use. The fourth is always different depending on the person. Master Eraqus would refer to them as the Unique Command Style since everyone's was different. You used Ven's Command Style, Speed Rave, a while ago, but I wonder if that's just a side effect from having Ven's heart inside of you." Aqua explained.

"So, the fourth Command Style is one that's unique to me." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Right. Learning how to trigger it can be tricky. You should try all sorts of methods. For example, my unique Command Style is called Magic Wish, and I trigger it by just using a lot of different magic spells in no particular order." Aqua explained.

"So I should just try different methods until I find the method that works?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Exactly. But I don't think that now is the time for experimentation." Aqua said as she noticed Phil entering with a megaphone.

"Alright! All competitors clear the arena! Warm up time is over! The games are about to begin!" Phil said as Sora, Aqua, Lightning, and Hope quickly entered the stands to the left of the entryway.

"Today's games are in two stages, starting with a timed match between one competitor and a series of these training…err…dummies." Phil said as a number of Heartless appeared in the arena space. Aqua and Sora looked at each other with determined looks. Lightning and Hope did the same.

"The final stage is two one on one matches to be held simultaneously. You've been divided up into groups for this one. Lightning and Hope Estheim are one group and will be facing against the other group, Aqua and Sora. If both members of a group win, then they're the winners. If only one member from each group wins then a third and final round will be fought between them. Winner takes all!" Phil announced as the four participants nodded. Phil then turned to the stands.

"Alright Junior Hero, you're up!" Phil said as Sora leapt down to the field. He turned and gave a smile and a thumbs up to Aqua who winked back with a smile at him. Sora walked up to the arena square and summoned his Keyblade just as Phil turned towards a nearby gong.

"Ready!" Phil shouted as he scraped his foot against the ground as if preparing to charge. The Heartless started huddling together in the center of the arena.

"Set!" Phil shouted, scraping his feet even faster as Sora dropped into his battle stance and started staring down the Heartless, ready to go at a moment's notice. Phil then charged at the gong, crashing into it with a resonating… 

**End Chapter 11.**

I deliberately left out one of the Command Styles in BBS because it can only be triggered by particular items. Lightning & Hope are both from Final Fantasy XIII, which I do not own. Similarly I would like to apologize if you find Hope and Lightning OOC. I don't have a PS3 or 360 so I obviously don't have a copy of FFXIII to compare their characters against. Hooray for YouTube and Wikipedia huh?

**Side note: **The Firaga described is the KH1 & COM versions of the Fire magic, the lone ball of fire. The KH2 Firaga, the spinning fireballs, I have renamed "Fire/Fira/Firaga Shield" for the sake of clarification.


	12. Olympus Coliseum Part 2

**BONG!!!**

Phil hit the gong head on and Sora leapt into action. He quickly started cutting down heartless left and right, blasting them occasionally with magic spells. He then used reflega when he saw a Neoshadow lunge for him but the shield dome caused the heartless to bounce off and be destroyed by the resulting burst of light. He then used Firaga Shield to push back the other Heartless, defeating a few. Sora then dodge rolled backwards before throwing a Thundaga spell. He then felt, inside his heart, a buildup of power unlike the tingling Thunder Bolt, the warmth Fire Blazer, and the cold of Diamond Dust. It was similar to Speed Rave which was when he felt his heartbeat speeding up along with a semi tingling sensation. However instead of the tingling sensation, it was like a combination of all three feelings, an alternating cold and warm feeling with the similar tingling. He quickly focused the energy into his Keyblade, causing him to start glowing with a white aura and start floating in midair, controlling his Keyblade telekinetically.

In the stands, Hope was amazed, Lightning arched a curious eyebrow, and Aqua literally leapt up and started cheering.

"YES! YES! YES! HE DID IT! HE DID IT!!!" She chanted as she danced around in place before noticing the concerned looks she was getting from Hope and Lightning. She grinned innocently before sitting down.

Sora, meanwhile, reared back and lunged straight into the thickest area of the crowd, surrounded by a glowing white shield of energy. He then turned and started spinning and slashing with the Keyblade, each successful hit sending a chain of lightning through the nearest heartless while he himself remained protected by the shield. Every time an enemy struck the shield, they would either be flash frozen and then shatter or burst into flames. Either way Sora mopped them up quickly. When the last of the heartless were gone, his Command Style faded away.

"Alright kid not bad! Next up, Aqua!" Phil announced as Sora approached Aqua as she made her way to the arena center.

"I'm so proud of you." Aqua said as they passed each other by.

"Thanks." Sora replied as he leapt back up onto the stands and took a seat next to Hope.

"That was impressive. How did you do that?" Hope asked.

"It's kinda hard to explain." Sora replied. Hope was about to ask something else but Lightning put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hope, pay attention to the match." Lighting said as Hope nodded and both he and Sora silently returned to watching the arena. Aqua stood ready on one end of the arena. Phil, having realized that head butting the gong was not such a good idea after all, hoisted up a mallet onto his shoulder.

"Ready!" Phil shouted as the heartless suddenly flooded the arena.

"Set!" Aqua summoned her Keyblade and stood ready to fight.

**BONG!!!**

Aqua immediately pointed her Keyblade at each of the heartless before her, carefully sweeping it across in front of her. The Heartless in the meantime started to charge at her.

"What's she doing?" Hope asked as Sora shrugged. He had never seen her do this before. Just before the heartless could reach her, she cartwheeled into the center of them and stopped as she started glowing with a white aura. She started spinning around in place like an ice skater would do, one foot hovering slightly above the ground while the other slowly started bending back and upwards as she arched her back towards her rising foot while spinning. As she spun, a swirling white light flowed down from her Keyblade overhead before she started moving around like a top towards the other heartless, mowing them down easily. By the time she finished the attack, the heartless had been wiped out and she slowly spun to a stop. Sora, Hope, and even Phil were both slack jawed.

"Holy Hera." Phil muttered in awe.

"Impressive." Lightning said coolly as she gave a polite golf clap. Aqua walked back to the stands, running a hand through her hair with a smile, and without even a hint of a dizzy stagger.

"What was that?! A Command Style?!" Sora asked excitedly as Aqua let out a relaxed sigh upon sitting down.

"Nope, that was a Shoot Lock. It's another thing that I'm going to teach you, Sora. I'll explain it to you later, but for now our focus is on mastering the Command Styles, okay?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded. They hadn't noticed Phil call for Hope to enter the arena. Their attention was regained when they heard Phil shout…

"Ready!" They saw Hope standing on one end of the arena with a single large boomerang that was almost taller than him.

"Set!" The heartless reappeared. Lightning leaned forward slightly, resting her right arm on her leg and her head in her hand as she watched.

**BONG!!!**

With a single mighty throw, Hope threw the boomerang which started to slice effortlessly through the heartless, sweeping around in a circle and decimating all but one of the heartless. Hope leapt up and caught the boomerang in midair as it returned to him. He then quickly hurled a Thundara blast from his hands at the single remaining heartless, destroying it. Hope turned and looked up hopefully at Lightning who leaned back with a satisfied smile, crossing her right leg over her left, before giving a nod. Hope smiled back up at her before nodding back and heading for the stands.

"You're really good. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Sora asked as Hope sat back down next to him.

"Later, I want to watch Lightning's fight first." Hope replied as Sora nodded understandingly and turned back towards the arena. Lightning was in position with her rifle in hand.

"Ready!" The heartless once again flooded the field.

"Set!" Lightning cocked her rifle and aimed it at the Heartless.

**BONG!!!**

Lightning quickly dropped to one knee, steadying the rifle and looking through its sights. With a single pull of the trigger, Lightning's rifle started to let out a steady stream of machine gun fire, mowing down the heartless in a matter of seconds.

"Well that was kinda…I dunno. Cheap?" Aqua asked as Sora shrugged.

"Lightning fights in her own way. She probably doesn't want to waste her energy this early on in the games. I can almost promise you a better fight in the next match." Hope said as they all stood up.

"Alright, thirty minute rejuvenation break!" Phil said through the megaphone before walking off stage.

"Come on Sora, let's talk training." Aqua said as Sora started to follow after her but paused and ran up to Lightning and Hope.

"I thought that the two of you fought well out there. I'm looking forward to facing one of you in the next match." Sora said as Hope smiled and nodded.

"You did well yourself, Sora. I'm counting the seconds for our match to arrive. See ya then." Hope said as Sora nodded and ran off to catch up with Aqua who was waiting for him by the lobby doors. Hope watched them leave through the lobby with a thoughtful look.

"Hope?" Lightning said, giving him a curious look.

"Huh?" Hope asked, looking up at her.

"Something up?" Lightning asked.

"No, it's nothing." Hope said as Lightning gave him a look as if saying "I know better." Hope sighed in defeat.

"I'm wondering. Why does Hades want us to win so badly at the games? Why does he want us to defeat those two? They don't seem to be mean or anything." Hope said as Lightning looked thoughtful.

"They do appear to be capable warriors. The woman more than the boy. Of course he did mention that she was his master. My question is, what sort of master is she? And what were those weapons they were using?" Lightning asked.

"They would probably ask the same of your gun, Light." Hope said as Lightning nodded slightly in agreement.

"Whatever the reason, we still have a job to finish. Take the opportunity to rest up for now, Hope." Lightning said as Hope nodded.

"Alright then, but…hey Light? Do you mind if I go talk to them?" Hope asked.

"I'm not sure about this Hope. They're our opponents. We should be focusing on a way to defeat them in the one-on-one battles in the next stage." Lightning said as Hope sighed, looking down at his feet in disappointment. Lightning looked at his expression and sighed.

"Ask the woman for me about where she gets that colored hair of hers." Lightning said as Hope looked up at her with a smile before running off. Lightning could only watch him leave with a smile and a small chuckle.

**…**

Aqua and Sora were outside the arena lobby. Aqua then stopped and turned to Sora.

"So now that you've acquired your unique Command Style, we can move on to the second tier of the Command Styles." Aqua said as Sora looked curious.

"The second tier? How many tiers are there exactly?" Sora asked.

"Just the two. The Second Tier has more to do with timing. When you're using a Command Style, you will eventually feel its power start to run out. It's when you feel like the power is about to let out that you quickly rejuvenate it with a single magic spell or a particular action such as dodging or attacking. The resulting Command Style is a tier two Style. Now every Keyblade wielder has three tier two command styles. Two shared, and one unique." Aqua explained.

"Two shared?" Sora asked confused as Aqua smiled and motioned to wait a moment.

"The two shared styles are formed from the bonds you make in your heart while the unique is formed directly from your heart, exactly like the unique first tier Command Style. For example, Terra and I had a strong bond with each other in our hearts so together we shared the Blade Charge Command Style. Ven and I had even stronger bonds with each other in our hearts so we shared the Air Rider Command Style." Aqua explained.

"Oh I get it, if I have formed strong connections with two people, then we share a Command Style because of it." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Precisely. I imagine that you will get your shared Command Styles from Kairi and Riku since they seem to be your closest friends." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"Then how do I activate the second tier? I know it involves timing." Sora said as Aqua smiled.

"That's the trick with the second tier, it takes a bit of guess work to figure out what they are. Once you figure out the trick to activating each one, then you will officially have mastered the Command Styles." Aqua said as Sora looked excited.

"I'll get to work on figuring them out right away!" Sora exclaimed as he ran back into the arena, passing Hope as he went.

"Hi Hope! Can't talk now! Gotta train!" Sora said as he passed, leaving a confused Hope behind.

"Uh, okay." Hope said with a shrug before turning towards Aqua. Aqua had turned slightly and seemed lost in thought and so she didn't notice Hope approaching.

"Um…" Hope said, catching Aqua's attention.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I guess I was a little lost in thought there." Aqua replied as Hope nodded understandingly.

"It's okay. I was just hoping to get to talk with you and Sora. You know, just wanting to be a good sportsman and all." Hope said as Aqua smiled.

"So, why are you competing in the games?" Aqua asked as Hope glanced at the doors to the underworld for a second before turning back to her.

"I'm fighting for something." Hope said as he headed towards the steps to the lobby. Aqua followed him and they both sat down on the steps, Aqua sitting to his right.

"I'm fighting for something too when I think about it." Aqua said, looking up towards the sky and thinking of Ven.

"What are you fighting for?" Hope asked as Aqua looked at him and then pulled out her lucky charm, stroking it gently with her thumb.

"I'm fighting to save my friends." Aqua said as Hope looked up towards the doors to the underworld again.

"I'm fighting to bring someone back." Hope said as Aqua smiled at him.

"We both fight for someone we care for. I hope you succeed, Hope. But I wonder, how do these games play into your plans?" Aqua asked as Hope looked away slightly.

"We've…made arrangements that if we win in the games, the people that Lightning and I are fighting for will be let go." Hope replied as Aqua looked curious.

"You mean…these people are being held hostage?" Aqua asked as Hope shook his head.

"No, they're not hostages. We're fighting to bring my mother and Lightning's sister back from the underworld." Hope explained as Aqua realized what he meant.

"You mean that they're dead? Oh Hope. You didn't make a deal with Hades did you?" Aqua asked him. Hope looked down at his feet.

"He said that he would let them go. I'm not entirely sure that I trust him but it's our only option." Hope replied as Aqua sighed.

"Dealing with Hades is never a wise idea. Trust me, he plays dirty and he doesn't always follow the rules. I've faced him once before. He's a very sore loser." Aqua said as Hope stood up.

"It doesn't matter. I have to do this. It's the only way." He said before turning towards the lobby entrance. He was about to walk away but he felt Aqua's hand on his wrist.

"Hope…just be careful." Aqua said before letting him go. Hope walked back into the arena in silence. Aqua sat in thought for a moment before following after him.

* * *

**Earlier…**

Sora had just passed Hope as he entered into the arena. He looked towards the arena and saw the practice barrels had been replaced. He started approaching the practice barrels when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Lightning sitting on the ground in the shade of one of the arena walls. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning up against the wall. Sora shrugged mentally and turned to continue towards the barrels. He summoned his Keyblade and quickly fired a Firaga blast, shattering one of the barrels. He heard a startled yelp when the barrel exploded and turned towards Lightning who had her rifle primed and aimed straight at Sora as she breathed heavily. She gave him an exasperated glare and lowered the rifle before climbing to her feet.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." Sora said as Lightning shrugged.

"Forget about it kid. Don't mind me." Lightning said as she sat back down. Sora shrugged and aimed his Keyblade at the barrels but paused and turned back towards her.

"Are you Hope's master or something?" Sora asked, gaining the woman's attention.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Is Hope your apprentice?" Sora asked as Lightning leaned back.

"I suppose he is. I really hadn't thought of calling him an apprentice, but I have been teaching him a few things about fighting. If anything it helps him stay focused." Lightning replied as Sora looked thoughtful.

"What about you? Is that girl teaching you to fight?" Lightning asked as Sora nodded.

"She's training me to become a Keyblade Master. I have to become one if I'm going to succeed in my mission." Sora explained, earning an understanding nod from Lightning.

"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. The girl acts like she knows what she's doing." Lightning said.

"She's a Keyblade Master, the last true master in years. She knows what I'm going to have to do to become a Master. I mean I'm working on mastering one of the abilities a true Keyblade Master needs to know. I should be working on them now actually." Sora said as Lightning stood to her feet.

"Then work on those abilities. Don't let me distract you. Focus on the task at hand." Lightning said as Sora nodded. He turned towards the barrels with a thoughtful look.

"Two bonds in my heart. Hmm." Sora said to himself as he closed his eyes in thought. Suddenly he instinctively fired another Firaga blast, shattering the barrel. He instinctively started doing that repeatedly before he felt the warmth inside his heart and focused it into his Keyblade, activating Fire Blazer. He then carefully used the first spell that came to mind, Magnega. Using Magnega pulled all of the barrels together. Sora then felt the urge to attack with the Keyblade and leapt up to attack. He kept attacking until he felt the command style's power starting to wane but he also felt a new and unfamiliar feeling in his heart. He quickly focused this new power into his Keyblade and the blade itself started emanating a black energy around the blade. He looked at himself and long black trails of an odd substance started trailing behind him as he moved. He noticed that his speed had increased and his attacks were more ferocious. He looked at his off hand and noticed that the back of his hand and fingers had been coating in a viscous black liquid that extended beyond his fingers in sharp points creating the illusion of his having claws. Sora's eyes widened in fear at the sight.

"Uh oh, am I in anti-form again?!" he asked as he came to a stop. He turned to see Hope running up to Lightning and Aqua entering from the lobby entrance. He quickly hurried over to her but not on all fours like the anti-form was common to do.

"Aqua! Aqua! Do I look like a heartless right now?!" Sora asked as Aqua looked at him curiously.

"No but you do have that strange stuff all over you. What did you do Sora?" Aqua replied.

"I used Magnega to pull all the barrels together and then I attacked them! I felt a strange feeling in my heart, like a Command Style, and when I focused it into my Keyblade, this stuff appeared!" Sora explained quickly as Aqua crossed her arms with a smile.

"Then are you sure it's not one of your tier two Command Styles?" Aqua asked as Sora pondered for a moment and then raced back to the barrels, taking a swing at them with his clawed hand which caused an entire barrel to shatter. He then felt the Command Style's energy fade away and he saw the liquid fade away along with the energy around his Keyblade.

"Huh. I guess it was." Sora said as Aqua caught up to him.

"Do you know whose heart you got it from?" Aqua asked as Sora pondered.

"I remembered trying to think of Kairi but when I did, I got the urge to cast reflect and dodge and guard. But when I thought of Riku, I felt the urge to use Magnet and then attack. I guess that means the Command Style I just used came from Riku." Sora said as Aqua crossed her arms.

"You thought of the people who you feel the closest to and you felt the instructions given to you. That's exactly how it's done, Sora." Aqua said as Sora smiled.

"But what about my unique tier two style?" Sora asked as Aqua knelt down to his level.

"It'll come to you. But first I want to talk to you about something real quick." Aqua whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Sora asked curiously.

"Because Hades is here manipulating Hope and Lightning." Aqua replied causing Sora to blink in surprise.

"What? I thought I defeated him recently!" He exclaimed in a whisper.

"Yeah but he is a god, and you can't kill a god you know." Aqua replied as Sora shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do? We can't stop Hades can we?" Sora asked as Aqua smiled.

"Maybe not him, but we can reveal his true colors to those two. Hope himself said that he doesn't fully trust Hades so I'm thinking, we find a way to get those two to realize that he's one of the bad guys." Aqua said as Sora understood and nodded.

"Good idea. I assume you have a plan?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed and shook her head.

"I was kinda hoping you did." Aqua replied. She and Sora both started thinking. They then heard a squeaking sound. They looked up and turned towards the lobby doors to see Phil pushing a blackboard on wheels out into the arena. Written on the blackboard were the match ups for the final round. Aqua was going to be fighting Lightning and Sora was going to be fighting Hope. Sora immediately had an idea.

"Aqua, I think I know how to do it." Sora said as Aqua snapped her fingers in mock-frustration.

"Shoot, I was hoping I'd have it first. Oh well, what's the plan?" Aqua asked as Sora started whispering in her ear. Aqua listened closely, her face slowly turning to serious listening, then suddenly to surprise. Her face then switched from surprise to a disapproving glare.

"Sora, that's dishonest." Aqua said as Sora put his hands behind his head in his relaxed fashion.

"I know." Sora smirked knowingly.

"Yes…" Aqua said still maintaining her glare of disapproval before suddenly switching to a sneaky grin, "…and I love it! Let's do it!"

She and Sora clasped each other's right hands, sealing the deal, as Phil whipped out the megaphone.

"Alright, all competitors! Take your positions!" Phil shouted as the large square slab in the arena center suddenly split into two rectangles, making an H shape with the stands when looking towards them from the lobby entrance. Aqua walked up to the space on the left while Sora walked up to the space on the right. Lightning and Hope were in their positions already. Sora and Aqua turned and gave each other a nod before turning towards their opponents. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife as the four warriors stared each other down.

It was going to be a fight to remember…

* * *

**End Chapter 12.**

Sora's Tier 1 & 2 Command Styles will be named later on in the story, so don't flame for me not giving them names.


	13. The Battle Within Begins

(**A/N:** Tee-Hee, Final Fantasy XIII fans should notice the chapter number & title is a little familiar. If you haven't figured it out by the end of the Chapter, I'll tell ya then.)

Aqua and Lightning looked at each other across their arena section, Lightning with a calm and calculated look and Aqua with a determined smile. Hope and Sora were staring each other down, both with friendly yet determined smiles on their faces.

"Ready!" Phil shouted as he raised the mallet. Sora and Aqua summoned their Keyblades and dropped into their battle stances. Hope whipped out his boomerang and Lightning cocked her rifle.

"Set!" Phil shouted as the warriors narrowed their eyes, gripping their weapons in full readiness.

**BONG!!!**

Sora charged at Hope who hurled his boomerang at the Keyblade Apprentice. Sora leapt over it and continued charging with his Keyblade raised. Hope quickly hurled a Thundara from his hands but Sora used Reflect to block the blow. The boomerang nearly took Sora's head off as it spun back towards its master but Sora blocked with his Keyblade just in time, but the boomerang bounced away and spun back towards its master. Hope leapt up and caught it before using it like a sword and swinging it at Sora. Sora, being an expert at using a blade, was obviously more than a match for Hope. He leapt back and threw up a Firaga Shield, causing Hope to stagger backwards to avoid the flames. Sora then charged again just as Hope threw his boomerang at him but dodged. Sora grabbed a hold of Hope's bandana and spun him around away from him before kicking him to the ground. As Hope scrambled to get to his feet, he heard Sora give out a pained yelp. Hope spun back around in time to catch his boomerang and saw that Sora was lying on his chest, his Keyblade just out of reach. Hope didn't see what had happened but he figured that Sora had been hit in the back by his boomerang. Sora was attempting to reach for his Keyblade but Hope took the initiative to kick the Keyblade away and pointed the end of his boomerang at Sora's chin.

"Okay-okay. You win." Sora said with a smile as he raised his hands slightly and Hope smiled, resting the boomerang against his shoulder.

"Good game, Sora. No hard feelings?" Hope asked as he helped Sora up.

"No hard feelings." Sora said as they shook hands.

**…**

Lightning pointed her rifle straight at Aqua as the Keyblade Master charged. She pulled the trigger and fired a steady stream at Aqua who used Reflect to block the bullets as she ran. When she finally reached Lightning she took a swing but Lightning leapt clear over her and landed behind her. Aqua spun around with a vicious swing for the head but she didn't expect to hear…

**CLANG!**

Aqua was stunned as she saw Lightning holding a polished silver bladed sword instead of the rifle.

"What in the-?! Where did that come from?!" Aqua asked but Lightning remained silent, shoving back on the Keyblade and then taking a vicious swing of her own. Aqua quickly blocked and started attacking. They continued to attack and parry each other's blows until finally Aqua leapt back to the opposite end of their battle space and activated her armor. Aqua then charged forward again just as Lighting did something amazing with her sword. She quickly morphed her sword into the rifle from earlier and took aim before firing another stream of bullets at the Keyblade Master. Aqua used Reflect again but suddenly the shield disappeared and she was overwhelmed by the attack. The bullets, actually pellets intended for nonlethal use, were strong enough to knock Aqua onto her back. When she fell, the Keyblade was knocked out of her hand. Lightning didn't miss a beat and leapt onto her chest with a serrated dagger in hand and pressed it to Aqua's throat. Aqua's helmet disappeared, showing a stunned expression on the woman's face. Aqua then smiled and gave a respectful nod. Lightning nodded back and started to stand up, sheathing the dagger before helping the Keyblade Master up.

"Game over! The winners are Lightning and Hope!" Phil announced as Hope smiled and leapt up and down in excitement. Lightning let a smile spread across her face even.

"Hey, cool weapon." Aqua said as she extended a friendly hand to Lightning.

"You too." Lightning replied as they shook hands. They then noticed Phil hobbling out with two small gold trophies.

"Alright, here ya go. You've earned these." Phil said but a cloud of black smoke erupted from the ground in front of him.

"Guess again goat man!" Hades growled angrily before flicking the satyr away.

"Hades." Sora and Aqua said softly yet disdainfully.

"We fulfilled our end of the bargain. We won the games now let my sister and Hope's mother go." Lightning said as Hades crossed his arms.

"You haven't won! They're still breathing! When I said defeat, I meant really defeat them, like sent to the underworld defeat!" Hades yelled angrily, his flames taking a shade of orange. Hope and Lightning looked at each other in stunned surprise before turning back to the god of the dead.

"That wasn't part of our original agreement!" Lightning said as Hades rubbed his temples and returned to his regular blue flames.

"Okay, let me see if there's something not quite figured out here. You get your friends back but in their place I get these two for the underworld. I mean what's so hard to figure out here? Just cut their threads of life and that's it. We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, we go home happy. What do you say? Come on." Hades said as Lightning and Hope looked at each other, Hope shaking his head.

"My mother wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want me to kill two people, who have done nothing to us, just for her!" Hope yelled at Hades.

"Same goes for Serah. She would be appalled at this. Deal's off!" Lightning said as Hades's eye twitched angrily. He then cleaned out his ear with his pinky.

"I'm sorry. You mind runnin' that by me again? I must have had a chunk of brimstone wedged in my ear or something." Hades said as Lightning cocked her rifle and aimed at the god of the dead.

"Then read our lips. For-get-it!" Lightning said, pulling the trigger, firing a bullet right at Hades's head. The bullet however, much to everyone's surprise, passed right through him, leaving him unscathed. Hades proceeded to smile sinisterly.

"SO! You two decide to become all _noble_, hmm? Oh there is just one more thing that I forgot to mention about our little deal here. Heh-heh-heh.(Ahem) Boys!" Hades shouted as he snapped his fingers. They suddenly felt the ground shake violently. They looked up and saw clouds in the sky appear and quickly darken. They turned back towards Hades who started backing away towards the Lobby, crafting a large box seat over the entrance with a snap of his fingers.

"The number one rule when dealing with the Lord of the Underworld, kids! Hades RULES!!!" Hades shouted with a grin as he appeared in his box seats just as the four turned around in time to see a massive column of magma erupt from the ground and then form into a large body stocky body with semi-cooled black rock on its head and back, forming two eyes and a mouth. They then saw a large black tornado form from the clouds above. What shocked them all was a pair of glowing red eyes that appeared in the whirling black winds of the twister and a large pair of arms form from the sides.

"What are those things?!" Hope asked as the four backed away cautiously.

"Titans! Hades's most powerful minions! They're very tough!" Aqua replied. Up in his box, Hades grinned again.

"Let's get ready to RUMBLLLLE!" Hades shouted. The Lava Titan proceeded to belch out a long flowing stream of magma at Hope and Lightning but Sora and Aqua quickly pulled them off into the stands on opposite sides of the arena. Lightning and Sora were on the left facing the Wind Titan while Aqua and Hope were on the right, facing the Lava Titan.

"You think we can handle them?" Lightning asked as Sora nodded.

"It's not a matter of can or can't!" Sora replied, summoning his Keyblade and donning his armor.

"Now you're learning." Lightning said with a smile.

"You know any Blizzard spells by any chance?" Aqua asked Hope who nodded.

"I've got Blizzara but that's it in terms of ice magic." Hope replied as Aqua donned her armor.

"Good. We're going to need it." Aqua replied as she started to chain Blizzaga spells together at the Lava Titan. The Lava Titan roared in fury and hurled large chunks of burning rock at the two warriors. Hope quickly hurled his boomerang at the chunks, smashing through them as Aqua continued her assault of Blizzaga spells. Finally she felt the cool feeling of Diamond Dust in her heart and focused it into her Keyblade.

"Time to cool you off pal!" Aqua shouted as she turned to Hope.

"Cover me!" She shouted before leaping up towards the Lava Titan and started bashing it with her Keyblade as it glowed with a cold white aura. Hope was firing Blizzara spells from his hands as fast as he could. He then saw the Lava Titan raise what appeared to be its arms, but he couldn't quite tell since they were oozing with molten rock. He quickly fired Blizzara spells at its hands but it still swatted at Aqua anyway. Aqua veered backwards, landing next to Hope on the stands. Her helmet disappeared to reveal that she was sweating profusely.

"Man it's warm in this thing!" She said as she fully dismissed her armor.

"Then what do we do?!" Hope asked as Aqua wiped the sweat from her brow. Before she could answer, the Lava Titan belched out another wave of molten rock.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Aqua exclaimed as she held Hope close and threw up a Reflect bubble around them both, using all her strength to keep the bubble up as the magma surged towards and around them. She felt the bubble starting to lose strength. She quickly used the last of her remaining strength with Diamond Dust and froze the molten rock around them, turning it into obsidian.

"You okay?" Aqua asked as Hope nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hope said, but as they attempted to move, they noticed that both their feet had been frozen in place by the ice from the Diamond Dust's final spell.

"We might be in a bit of a predicament." Aqua said nervously as the Lava Titan stared directly at them, preparing to strike.

**…**

Lightning and Sora were staring down the Wind Titan that was glaring back at them just as angrily.

"Any ideas?" Sora asked as Lighting charged straight at the Titan. The Titan pointed its right arm at her and it became a swirling black funnel that sucked her inside. Sora sighed and charged in after her. Sora was quickly pulled into the Wind Titan's swirling insides where large chunks of debris were being batted around. He quickly started using glide to keep himself steady, cutting through any large chunks of debris. He then spotted Lightning, standing on a large pillar. He couldn't help but notice that she was moving her fingers in her left hand rather curiously and using her sword/gun hybrid to cut through any large debris with ease.

"Sora!" Lightning shouted as she moved her hand around and the debris she was riding moved closer towards him. Sora quickly climbed onto the debris.

"Do you have a magnet spell by any chance?!" Lightning asked over the winds. Sora nodded and cast Magnega towards the center of the Titan. The resulting spell caused all of the debris, including the piece they were riding, to be pulled towards the center.

"Keep it going!" Lighting shouted as she transformed her sword into its gun form. She then rammed her gun right into the center of the debris pile.

"When I tell you to, hit this thing with as powerful of a fire spell as you've got!" Lightning ordered as Sora nodded. Lightning then threw her left arm around his waist. Sora took the hint and did the same with his right arm after quickly transferring the Keyblade to his left.

"Ready…NOW!!!" Lighting pulled the trigger on her gun and Sora fired the Firaga spell, causing a massive explosion within the titan that threw them clear out of the swirling winds but straight towards the stands. Sora quickly put himself between Lightning and the ground, knowing his armor would take the brunt of the impact. Lightning however cast a Magnega spell in the opposite direction to pull at them and slow them down. The plan worked and they hit the stands in a light skid. They sat up and saw that the Wind Titan had disappeared…but only briefly as it reformed, its red eyes glaring straight at them. It then raised its hand and launched a large pillar at them. Sora quickly fired a Firaga and hit the pillar but it only slowed it down. Sora quickly rolled over on top of Lightning, pushing himself up with his hands and feet just as the pillar landed atop two of the seats, pinning them both beneath it but leaving them relatively unharmed. Sora's armor had softened the impact but had left him sandwiched between the pillar and a rather annoyed looking Lightning.

"Umm…" Sora mumbled as his armor disappeared, revealing his embarrassed expression. Lightning just stared at him with a twitchy eyed scowl. Lightning then saw something behind Sora that made her eyes widen. The Wind Titan was glaring straight at them. All four of our heroes were in perilous positions. Aqua and Hope were stuck in the molten rock while Sora and Lightning were trapped underneath a fallen pillar while both Titans stared at their opponents angrily. Hades grinned sinisterly at the sight.

"My favorite part of the game…" Hades said as the Lava Titan straightened up to belch out more magma and the Wind Titan started moving closer to Sora and Lighting, ripping up the stands as it moved.

"…Sudden Death." Hades said as he leaned back and with a wave of his hands, a cigar appeared in his hand.

"Game…set…match." Hades said with a grin as he lit the cigar with a flame on his thumb, taking a deep drag.

"DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE HADES!!!" A familiar voice echoed, causing Hades to choke on the smoke from his cigar and look up towards the sky. He recognized the voice. He then saw a white winged blur fly down from overhead and land in the center of the arena. It was Hercules and Megara on Pegasus.

"Jerk-ules!?!?" Hades exclaimed angrily before realizing something and grinned.

"You know something kid, you're too late! You can't save both at the same time! Either way, I'm going back to the underworld with at least two souls!" Hades declared with a laugh. He then heard a loud thunder clap overhead which made him flinch.

"Uh oh." He whimpered as Hercules grinned up at him.

"Oh Da-ad!" Hercules yelled up towards the sky. Almost instantly two lightning bolts flew in and struck both Titans head on, knocking them backwards. Two more flew in and shattered the molten rock and ice on Aqua and Hope's feet and completely vaporized the pillar on top of Sora and Lightning. Hades screamed in anger. The four heroes themselves were suddenly struck by lightning bolts but instead of doing damage, completely restored their strength and energy. They quickly hurried to group up with Hercules.

"Alright, let's give these guys a taste of their own medicine!" Sora exclaimed as Hercules nodded.

"Let's go!" Hercules shouted as they each charged the titans head on. The lightning bolts had also temporarily made them immune to the Titan's respective powers and they exploited this quickly. Aqua and Sora unleashed the Diamond Dust Command Style on the Lava Titan as Lightning and Hope started bashing it with their weapons. Hercules however ran up towards the dazed Wind Titan.

"Steer him over this way!" Hercules shouted as the four heroes worked together to force the Lava Titan closer to the Wind Titan. Hercules then grabbed a hold of the Wind Titan's "feet" on the ground and swung it down towards the ground so that the top of its funnel was aimed towards the Lava Titan, sucking it up inside. He then started to spin the two titans overhead before hurling it with all his might into the cosmos above where the two titans exploded in a brilliant light. Hades yelled in absolute rage at the sudden turn of events.

"FINE! You won this round Hercules! But you won't be winning the next one!" Hades yelled as the five heroes glared at him. Without warning though a bolt of lightning struck Hades's box seat and another one struck the ground below him, opening a large and deep crack in the ground that led all the way down to the underworld.

"Oh Thebes." Hades mumbled before he suddenly fell towards and into the crack, returning to the underworld before the crack closed back up and the clouds overhead magically parted.

"He's going to be pretty angry when he gets out of there." Hope said as Sora turned to him.

"You mean, if he gets out." Sora said as Hope smiled and nodded in agreement.

"If. If is good." Hope replied.

"Well I guess that's the last we'll see of Hades for a while. My father, Zeus, will see to that." Hercules said as Phil came hobbling out from the Lobby where he had been hiding until now.

"It's about time you got here Herc! I need ya to help me make sure the arena's not gonna collapse on us!" Phil ordered as Hercules sighed.

"Right Phil, talk to you guys later." Herc said as he turned and walked away after the satyr. Lightning and Hope then turned to the two Keyblade wielders.

"Why did you two throw the match?" Lightning asked bluntly, catching the two off guard.

"How did you know?" Sora asked.

"You just confessed." Lightning said as Sora blinked and then smacked his forehead.

"Hope told us that you had made a deal with Hades to rescue some friends of yours from the Underworld. We both have had bad experiences with Hades before in the past and we knew he couldn't be trusted. But we didn't know if you would believe us or just ignore us." Aqua explained.

"You're right. I doubt I would have believed you. You were right to make Hades reveal his true colors. We weren't about to kill for our friends. They would be ashamed of us if we did and I don't know if we could live with the guilt." Lightning replied.

"Yeah." Hope said as he lowered his head.

"I'm sorry you couldn't get them back. If there was anything we could do we would." Sora said as Hope smiled up at him.

"Don't worry about it. I'll come to terms with my mother's death, eventually but…I just need some time. Besides, fighting without hope is no way to live, it's just a way to die, right, Lighting?" Hope asked as Lightning nodded.

"I'm sorry for the trouble we caused you. If there's any way to make up for it-." Lightning said as Aqua and Sora both shook their heads.

"Not at all. It was an honor to have met the two of you. And I hope you both find a way to get your friends out of the underworld some day." Aqua said as Sora nodded in agreement, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah. Hey, who was it you were trying to rescue anyway, Lightning?" Sora asked as Lightning looked at him.

"My sister, Serah Farron." Lightning replied as Sora and Aqua both gave her startled looks.

"Serah?! You're Serah's sister?!" Sora asked as Lightning and Hope both looked at him in surprise.

"You've seen Serah? Where?!" Lightning asked.

"She lives on my homeworld, The Destiny Islands. She should be there right now!" Sora explained as Lighting stepped back a bit in shock, looking up towards the sky.

"Serah." Lightning said towards the sky before turning back towards Sora. She reached into her pocket and took his hand, placing something inside of it and closing his fingers around it.

"Here. Take this." Lightning said as Sora looked at the object. It was a small pendant with a strange symbol that looked like a square shaped jumble of black arrows and an imperfect red circle in the center. (A/N: The Pulse L'Cie mark)

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"Just a little something you can use if you ever need our help in the future." Hope said as Sora nodded and pocketed the pendant with a smile.

"Come on Hope, we better go." Lightning said as she turned away from them. Hope hurried up and joined her.

"Hey! How are you going to get there?!" Sora asked but was ignored.

Lightning threw a red rose shaped crystal into the air overhead which exploded in a beautiful red sphere of energy. The whinny of a horse was heard echoing through the winds and a massive horse flew in from above, red rose petals fluttering down from around it as it came to stop on the ground. Sora was amazed at the sight. Lightning leapt onto the beast's back and pulled Hope up to sit behind her. The horse whinnied again and reared back before leaping into the air and riding upwards until it disappeared into the sky above.

"What was that?" Sora asked as Aqua smiled and shrugged.

"Come on Sora, let's go." Aqua said as she and Sora turned towards the lobby entrance.

"So, what now?" Sora asked.

"It's up to you. You decide this time." Aqua said as Sora put his hands behind his head again.

"Do you mind if we go to Radiant Garden? I want to make sure that Riku and Kairi got there alright." Sora said as Aqua smiled and nodded. They noticed Megara approaching.

"You two leaving so soon? Wonder boy is going to wonder where you went." Meg said as Sora shrugged.

"Can you tell him we had to leave and that we said thank you for saving our lives back there?" Sora asked as Meg nodded.

"Sure. I'll let him know. Take care." Meg said as Sora and Aqua turned and summoned their Keyblade Riders and armor before shooting off into the sky.

* * *

**End Chapter 13.**

If you haven't figured out how the title and number of this chapter relates to Final Fantasy XIII. It's the game's number and tagline.

I'm also assuming that the armor worn by Aqua & Sora has some magical properties to it that makes it highly resilient to everything but Keyblades and protects the wearer from a number of potential dangers. That's why Sora was able to survive being smashed by the column in the chapter.


	14. That's How You Know

Sora and Aqua arrived in the Radiant Garden Marketplace. Unfortunately they saw a slightly disturbing sight. Two Soldier type heartless bouncing around like they usually did, but they disappeared shortly after realizing they had been spotted.

"Uh oh. The Heartless are back." Sora said as Aqua sighed.

"Yeah. Looks like the darkness is getting stronger again, despite the fact that we just defeated Hades." Aqua said as Sora looked up at her.

"We probably better make sure that Riku and Kairi are here." Sora said as Aqua nodded and they both ran off towards Merlin's house. As they entered the Borough they were immediately confronted by a small swarm of Heartless.

"Oh no you don't!" Aqua said as she and Sora effortlessly smashed through the heartless. They then hurried to Merlin's House where they found the security system active and obliterating heartless left and right. They then saw Leon throw the door open with his gunblade raised before he started cutting down the heartless that didn't go down in one hit.

"Sora! Aqua! Get inside!" Leon ordered. Aqua and Sora complied and ran into Merlin's House, followed shortly by Leon. Just then they heard a strange mechanical sound from outside. Sora and Aqua peaked through the windows to see a massive beam sweep through and completely vaporize the heartless but left the area around it intact.

"Geez. The Heartless seem to be getting worse all of a sudden." Cid said as he pounded away at the keyboard.

"Yeah. The Darkness must be getting stronger for the Heartless to start showing up again." Yuna said as Tifa nodded.

"I wish Cloud were here. We could use his help." Tifa said as Aerith approached Sora and Aqua.

"Have you encountered many Heartless in your travels?" Aerith asked as Sora and Aqua thought.

"Only in Olympus Coliseum, but that was because of Hades. He's been taken care of now but I don't think that he's the only source." Sora replied.

"Sora's right. We know who is behind this." Aqua said.

"Xehanort, we know." Leon replied, earning a curious look from the two Keyblade wielders.

"How did you know?" Aqua asked.

"A couple of friends of yours told us, Sora. A cute looking man and a very nice girl. They came by way of his majesty the King. They're with Yuna, Rikku, and Paine getting settled in right now." Aerith explained as Sora looked excited.

"Riku and Kairi are here! I knew they would get here safely!" Sora exclaimed as he jumped up and down.

"Riku? Kairi? I don't think those were their names, Sora." Tifa replied, earning a confused look from both Sora and Aqua.

"Well…if it wasn't Riku or Kairi, then who was it?" Aqua asked. On cue the door opened and in fluttered Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, followed closely by…

"Hey-hey look who's here."

"Snow! Serah! What are you two doing here?!" Sora asked in shock.

"We thought we might try and help you on your mission, Sora." Serah replied.

"The King dropped us off. Hope you don't mind that we decided to tag along." Snow said as Sora shook his head.

"No-no, I'm glad you guys are here, it's just…where are Riku and Kairi? Weren't they with you?" Sora asked.

"They're in Disney Town. The King let it slip that they were having some kind of celebration in his homeworld and Kairi got all excited. So Riku asked if they could stop and go enjoy the fun. They asked us to send their apologies for not being here in person to greet you." Serah explained.

"Given the circumstances with the increase in Heartless around here, I'd say that Disney Town is the best place for them right now." Aqua said as Sora nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Oh! Hey Serah, do you have a sister by any chance?" Sora asked as Serah gasped with a smile.

"You've met Claire?!" Serah asked as Aqua and Sora both snickered.

"_Claire_, as you call her, was in Olympus Coliseum when we were there. She seemed to think that you were dead." Aqua explained. Snow grinned innocently and scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, that's kinda my fault I'm afraid. See, like Serah, I'm not originally from the Destiny Islands. We both came from here actually. When Radiant Garden started to fall into the darkness, Lightning told me to get Serah and Kairi out of here, and I did just that. I didn't know where I'd end up but I got them both there safely…well not unless you count the bump on the head that caused Serah and Kairi to forget where they originally came from…luckily not about their friends or family." Snow explained.

"Makes since. People who are close enough to you though one way or another, are very hard to forget." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"Well that explains a lot." Sora said.

"Yeah but we sent Lightning to the Islands to look for you. She seemed pretty relieved to hear you were alive, Serah." Aqua added. Serah nodded understandingly.

"I know, but Tidus, Wakka, Vaan, Penelo, and Selphie should steer her in the right direction. We'll wait here for her." Serah replied.

"She might not be too thrilled to see me though. She never has liked me." Snow said with a shrug.

"So are you guys just here to lend a hand? You never did give us a direct answer on that." Leon said as Serah and Snow both nodded.

"We are. Radiant Garden was our home years ago and we owe it to the people here to try and restore that which was lost. But we also came here for another reason." Snow said, looking straight at Sora.

"What's that?" Aerith asked as Serah smiled at Sora.

"We came here to talk to you, Sora. To talk to you about Kairi." Serah said, catching Sora off guard.

"Kairi? Is she alright?" Sora asked worriedly.

"Physically she's fine Sora. We're talking about the condition of her heart." Serah replied. Now Aqua was concerned.

"Why? Is something happening to her heart?" Aqua asked as Serah shook her head.

"Um, perhaps I'm making this sound bad. Kairi is fine both physically and in terms of her heart. I'm talking more about emotionally. Yeah, that's better. She's a little…um…confused, Sora." Serah said as Aqua figured it out.

"Oh you meant her heart as in emotional heart. Ah, sorry. Keyblade Warrior style thinker here. Someone says heart I think Princess of Heart or Heartless. But I'm there now, go on." Aqua said as Cid scoffed.

"Hey, I was thinkin' the same thing." Cid replied. Yuffie and Rikku seemed to be lost but everyone else seemed to have figured it out as well.

"So what's wrong with her emotional heart?" Sora asked.

"Well, let me ask this Sora. How do you feel about her? Is she your friend?" Serah asked as Sora gave her a weird look.

"Of course she's my friend. She's more than just a friend. She's my girlfriend." Sora blurted out before realizing what he had said and clamping his mouth shut with his hands, blushing a deep shade of red.

"Well, now it's all out in the open. Keepin' that emotion bottled up inside huh? How's that workin' for ya?" Cid snickered.

"Shut up Dr. Cid." Paine quipped with a smirk.

"Uh, will you all just kinda forget I said that?" Sora said with an embarrassed expression.

"It's okay Sora. We pretty much knew how you felt about her before we came here. My question is, does Kairi know?" Serah asked as Sora looked at her confused.

"Does Kairi know what?" Sora asked.

"That you love her." Serah replied.

"I…assumed she does. I thought she knew." Sora said.

"How, Sora? How does she know?" Serah asked with a smile before she started singing… (Music Cue: "That's how you know" from Disney's "Enchanted")

_"How does she know you love her?_  
_How does she know she's yours?"_

Then a light bulb went off over Snow's head as he sang…

_"How does she know that you love her?"_

Serah looked at him surprised for a second as she replied…

_"How do you show her you love her?"_

Serah and Snow nodded with smiles on their faces before turning back to Sora, singing…

_"How does she know that you really, really, truly love her?_  
_How does she know that you love her?_  
_How do you show her you love her?_  
_How does she know that you really, really, truly love her?"_

Serah then started walking outside with the others following close behind as she sang and Snow added…

_"It's not enough to take the one you love for granted._  
_You must remind her, or she'll be inclined to say..._  
_How do I know he loves me?_  
_(Snow: How does she know that you love her?_  
_How do you show her you love her?)_  
_How do I know he's mine?_  
_(Snow: How does she know that you really, really, truly love her?)"_

Snow then handed her a small white card that she looked at and swooned over as she sang…

_"Well does he leave a little note to tell you you are on his mind?"_

Then she picked up a bushel of yellow flowers from the planter outside one of the buildings nearby and threw them into the air…

_"Send you yellow flowers when the sky is grey? Hey!_  
_He'll find a new way to show you, a little bit every day._  
_That's how you know, that's how you know!_  
_He's your love..."_

Serah sang as she motioned for everyone to follow her towards the Marketplace. Snow then put his arm around Sora as they followed.

"I'm not quite sure I understand, Snow." Sora said as Snow grinned.

"Sora, we're talking about you and Kairi. She loves you, ya know? Don't you love her back?" Snow replied as Sora nodded back.

"Of course, with all my heart." Sora replied as Snow slapped him on the back with a grin.

"Then listen closely…" Snow said before he started singing…

_"You've got to show her you need her._  
_Don't treat her like a mind reader._  
_Each day do something to need her,_  
_to believe you love her."_

Then they reached the steps towards the Marketplace, as Tifa, Aerith, Aqua, and Yuffie joined in dancing, matching Serah's movements as she danced and sang while Snow and the girls replied…

_"Everybody wants to live happily ever after,_  
_everybody wants to know their true love is true..._  
_How do you know he loves you?_  
_(Snow: How does she know that you love her?_  
_How do you show her you need her?)_  
_How do you know he's yours?_  
_(Snow & Girls: How does she know that you really, really, truly-)"_

Then they hurried up to the Marketplace, stopping at the railing over the small pit area as Snow took Serah by the hand, dancing with her as she sang…

_"Well does he take you out dancing just so he can hold you close?_  
_Dedicate a song with words in_  
_just for you? Ooh!"_

Then Serah and the girls joined in unison in singing…

_"He'll find his own way to tell you_  
_with the little things he'll do!_  
_That's how you know…"_

Then everyone in the marketplace joined in and added…

_"That's how you know!"_

And Serah replied as she stared deeply into Snow's eyes…

_"He's your love._  
_He's your love..."_

Then they all leapt over the railing, as the entire Restoration Committee (sans Sora, Leon, and Cid) and everyone in the marketplace gathered in the pit and joined in dancing as Serah sang…

_"That's how you know…_  
_he loves you!_  
_That's how you know…_  
_it's true!"_

Sora hurried around to the other side of the pit as Serah turned towards him and started singing…

_"Because he'll wear your favorite color_  
_just so he can match your eyes."_

She sang as she pointed to her eyes…

_"Plan a private picnic_  
_by the fires glow! Oh!"_

She sang before she, Snow, and the crowd sang…

_"His heart will be yours forever,_  
_something every day will show!"_

Then they all started singing, the guys echoing the girls as they sang…

_"That's how you know!_  
_(Guys: That's how you know)_  
_That's how you know!_  
_(Guys: That's how you know)_  
_That's how you know!_  
_(Guys: That's how you know)_  
_That's how you know!_  
_(Guys: That's how you know)_  
_That's how you know!_  
_(Guys: That's how you know)"_

Then they all sang in unison…

_"That's how you KNOW!"_

Then Serah and Snow started singing…

_"He's your love..._  
_(Snow: That's how she knows that you love her!_  
_That's how you show her you love her!)_  
_That's how you know..._  
_(Snow: You've got to show her you need her._  
_Don't treat her like a mind reader.)"_

Then Serah and the girls sang as the guys replied…

_"That's how you know..._  
_(Guys: How do you know her you love her?_  
_That's how you know that you love her)_  
_He's your lo---------------------------------------------ve!_  
_(Guys: It's not enough to take the one you love for granted)"_

(End Music)

The crowd let out a cheer as they finished singing, having thoroughly enjoyed the spontaneous experience. The crowd then started to slowly disperse, laughing and smiling as they split up, leaving Sora, Snow, Serah, Aqua, and the Restoration Committee behind in the market pit.

"So now do you understand, Sora?" Serah asked as Sora nodded.

"I think I do. I need to show Kairi how I feel about her, and not just assume that she knows already. So the next time I see her, I'm going to find some way to let her know how I…how I feel." Sora said as Serah nodded.

"Good for you, Sora." Serah said.

"Well, come on Sora. We don't have much time to waste. We've got more worlds to visit to get you trained." Aqua said as Sora nodded. Before anyone could say or do anything else, the ground shook violently.

"What was that?!" Snow asked as Sora and Aqua looked at each other.

"Trouble." They replied in unison before running off back towards the Borough's with the rest of the Restoration Committee in tow.

* * *

**End Chapter 14.**

The Song above was "That's How You Know" from Disney's "Enchanted."

Also, Yaoi based comments reguarding the song will be counted as flames. And flames will only be used to roast hot dogs over.


	15. Moon & Water, Snow & Lightning

Sora, Aqua, and the Restoration Committee hurried back to the boroughs, finally reaching Merlin's House where the Heartless were trying to break down the door.

"Not so fast!" Sora shouted as he leapt into action, cutting through the Heartless easily. They turned and saw more heartless scramble away towards the Bailey.

"Come back here!" Aqua shouted as she and Sora gave chase. Leon watched the two run off with a curious expression.

"Something wrong Leon? Well, I mean besides the Heartless." Yuffie said.

"Can't you guys feel it? That sudden chill in the air?" Leon asked as the others paused then nodded.

"Yeah, it's strange. I don't know why but I feel…nervous." Yuffie replied.

"It's him. The one Sora and Aqua have been looking for." Aerith said with a worried expression. Leon sighed.

"Whatever happens, it's out of our hands." Leon said as the others nodded worriedly.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Sora and Aqua chased the Heartless as they fled towards and out the city walls, leading them into the blue rock canyons outside the city. Sora then noticed several white squiggly objects appear and follow the Heartless away. Sora immediately recognized the beings.

"Aqua! Nobodies!" Sora exclaimed as they continued following the swarm of creatures.

"They're leading us somewhere!" Aqua replied. They could both feel the sudden chill in the air but only Aqua sensed a hauntingly familiar presence. They continued chasing the Heartless and Nobodies all the way to the Dark Depths where they suddenly disappeared into thin air. Sora and Aqua both stopped, confused.

"What? Where did they go?" Sora asked as Aqua looked around carefully.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Aqua said. They then heard a dark and sinister laugh, echo from out of nowhere. Sora and Aqua started looking around for the source of the voice.

"Aqua, was that you?" Sora asked as Aqua shook her head.

"If it was me, it wouldn't have been a guy's voice now would it?" Aqua asked back as Sora shrugged.

"How very droll. The two of you have done quite enough of making a mess of things. You have each foiled my plans, though you boy have proven to be quite a pain…more so than the girl." The voice echoed.

"First, you girl, and your friends manage to thwart my plans and render my memories inaccessible. I have reversed that now thanks to the influence of my lackeys. Then you, boy, somehow manage to not only defeat my Heartless, but also my Nobody as well. How you accomplished their defeat is beyond me, but I do have you to thank for my freedom." The voice said as a Corridor of Darkness appeared on the cliff edge of the Dark Depths. Sora and Aqua both turned towards it in time to see the Corridor disappear, and in its place stood the man responsible for everything bad that had been happening to the worlds within the past eleven years, with his hands behind his back, and standing in a slight hunch forward with a smile on his tanned face. Xehanort, the Lord of the Darkness.

"Have you missed me, Aqua?" Xehanort said with an oily and sarcastic tone. Aqua and Sora both stood ready with their Keyblades, not saying a word.

"What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see your, old friend, back from the shadows of darkness, alive and well?" Xehanort asked as Aqua glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Don't you dare talk to me as if we were friends, Xehanort! The man you were was my friend, but the man you have become never will be." Aqua spat angrily as Xehanort chuckled in amusement. Sora looked confused.

"My-my, aren't we a bit touchy today." Xehanort said as Aqua growled in anger.

"Where have you been all this time, Xehanort? Hiding in the shadows while your Heartless and Nobody did your dirty work for you?" Aqua asked as Xehanort chuckled again.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. When I lost my heart several years ago, performing the experiments on darkness of the heart with dearly departed Ansem the Wise's five other apprentices, I was pulled into the realm of darkness, doomed to wander for the remainder of my existence. But then, something extraordinary happened. I was released from the Realm of Darkness, by what I assumed was completely at random. My memories, still shattered and jumbled, slowly started to piece themselves back together. It was our first encounter here in Radiant Garden that started this process of reassembling my memories. I have since recovered, and I believe that I have figured out why I was released from the Realm of Darkness. Would you like to know how?" Xehanort asked as Aqua and Sora glared at him, still battle ready.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. I believe my release from the Realm of Darkness, was due in no small part to you, dear Sora." Xehanort said, catching Sora and Aqua off guard.

"What? Me?! How did I help you escape?!" Sora asked in disbelief.

"Oh it was not easy. Apparently, when one's Heartless and Nobody are defeated and sent back into the darkness, the result pulls the original being back into the worlds. I don't know how you defeated them Sora, since I was never actually there, but I do know that it was you that defeated them. So for that, I must thank you." Xehanort said with a grin as Sora glared at him angrily.

"You can keep your thanks! I did what I had to, to help the worlds and to help my friends! I don't need the thanks from the likes of you!" Sora replied as Xehanort chuckled and started glowing with dark energy.

"Oh but I insist on thanking you. Here is your 'reward' for all of your troubles." Xehanort said as he raised his hand at Sora. Before anything could happen, he froze and started grimacing as if he was fighting against something.

"Let-go,-you-cur." Xehanort grunted, confusing Sora but making Aqua's eyes widen in silent shock. Xehanort continued to struggle, Aqua noticing flashes of blue appearing and disappearing in his eyes and streaks of brown fading in and out of his hair. Finally he threw back his head and let out an anguished yell, causing an upwards burst of dark energy to erupt around him and two gray spheres to appear hovering in midair on either side of him. One sphere had the image of a crescent moon and a large and familiar claymore inside of it with the black and white nobody thorns swirling around it, while the other had the symbol of a familiar looking sitar inside it with streams of water swirling around it.

"GAH! Have fun with these old friends of yours Sora! They've been dying to have a reunion with you!" Xehanort roared as a Corridor of Darkness appeared around him.

"Oh and Aqua, welcome back." Xehanort's voice echoed tauntingly as he disappeared with a maniacal laugh. Sora and Aqua both looked at the spheres.

"Uh oh, more Absent Silhouettes, and I know exactly who they are!" Sora exclaimed as the spheres suddenly exploded and were replaced by two figures in Organization XIII robes with the hoods up. They both pulled back the hoods to reveal themselves to be Saix, the Lunar Diviner and Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne. Demyx threw his right hand in the air and summoned his Sitar while Saix's claymore appeared in a flash of soft blue light. Demyx immediately started conjuring water forms.

"Which one do you want, Sora?" Aqua asked, but Sora had summoned his armor and had leapt into battle against Saix. Aqua immediately turned towards Demyx and started using Blizzaga against his water forms, freezing them solid before they shattered. Aqua quickly entered Diamond Dust and was using its freezing abilities to her advantage, until Demyx started to throw large columns of pressurized water at her. Aqua leapt to the side and attempted to strike at Demyx but another column of highly pressurized water nearly took her out.

"Oh so you want to play rough do you?!" Aqua asked. She then started using Firaga and Blizzaga on the water forms, evaporating them with the Firaga while still freezing them with Blizzaga. She then focused the resulting energy in her heart into her Keyblade, entering the Blade Charge Command Style. Her Keyblade became a large light blue sword and she leapt backwards into the air, the blade glowing slightly before she launched forward, smashing through the water forms in one swoop. She then turned to Demyx who quickly tossed up a pillar of water around himself, protecting him and simultaneously summoning large water filled bubbles that erupted from the top of the pillar like a volcano and started falling down towards Aqua.

Aqua leapt backwards and charged up another attack, then flying forward, cutting through the pillar, effortlessly. She turned around as the water pillar vanished but saw no sign of Demyx. She did however hear sitar music being played from overhead. She looked up and saw Demyx lunge at her from overhead, creating pillars of water behind him as he flew. Aqua leapt to the side just as the pillars blew past. She quickly charged another attack, it wouldn't be much, but then again it didn't have to be. She only had to knock Demyx out of the sky. She leapt up with the attack and smacked Demyx with the broadside of the sword and sending him plummeting down into the ground. Aqua landed nearby, and she could feel the energy from her Command Style had almost completely run out. Demyx climbed up onto his feet just in time for Aqua to fly past him, and land behind him on one knee with her sword held out to the side as if she had just attacked. Demyx stood stunned as he looked down at his sitar, just as it broke in half and evaporated. Demyx started crying as he dropped to his knees, sobbing loudly as he started to turn transparent until one final sad sob echoed on the wind.

**…**

Sora had leapt into battle with Saix, the Luna Diviner, with his armor active. Just as he did though, he remembered a crucial element that was missing that would give him an edge against the Nobody. There was no moon out, so Saix couldn't go into his berserk mode…or so he assumed. Sora dismissed his armor just as Saix raised his hand in the air. Almost instantly a blue glowing crescent shaped object appeared in midair over the battlefield and an enraged look appeared in Saix's eyes, causing Sora to realize that Saix wasn't without his moon fueled berserk form after all. Saix raised his claymore, which immediately sprouted the eight razor sharp blades, before he leapt up and hurled the claymore at Sora with a roar. Sora leapt up and out of the way as the claymore collided with the ground, sending streams of violent blue energy out in a shockwave from the point of impact.

Sora quickly leapt out of the way and fired off a Blizzaga spell at Saix, but it had no effect as Saix was still in his berserk state. He then fired off Firaga and then followed up with Thundaga. Saix roared as he lunged at Sora, smashing into the ground and sending out a shockwave, but Sora quickly used Reflega and shielded himself from the shockwave. Saix however had fallen into Sora's trap, because Sora had discovered, that using fire, blizzard, thunder, and reflect magic all together and in no particular order, was the trigger for his unique Command Style, Destiny Blitz. The Reflect shield appeared around Sora just as Saix roared and lunged at him, sending shockwaves as he charged past. Sora however was protected as he hovered above the ground and delivered a fierce blow to Saix's backside after dodging the attack. Sora turned and saw Saix in the air with his claymore, mere seconds before he threw it again. Sora dodge rolled out of the way just as Saix came flying down to the ground, sending shockwaves as he attacked four times.

Sora continued to dodge roll and evade until he found himself backed up against a wall. Saix saw this and slammed his claymore against the ground, sending a wave of blue energy towards Sora. Sora instinctively used reflega which repulsed the wave of energy, but he also felt something, a buildup of energy inside his heart just as Destiny Blitz was starting to wane. It felt warm, yet soothing all the while, like his heart was light as a feather and was fluttering. He instinctively shunted this energy into his Keyblade, causing him to glow with a crisp and pure white light with a brand new reflect shield but instead of the octagonal shield pieces, the shield was one pure white round shield. Sora could also feel a sense of peace washing over him and he knew exactly why. It was the Light of the Heart Command Style, the one he shared with Kairi.

He turned towards Saix and aimed his Keyblade at the Luna Diviner, causing a brief glowing white five pointed star, similarly shaped like Kairi's charm, to appear on the tip before sending out a beautiful white beam of light that his Saix head on. When the light faded, Saix was staggering but not completely out. Sora was stunned as he saw Saix replenishing his strength with an enraged roar. Sora then looked up to see the fake moon overhead. Sora looked back at Saix just as the enraged Silhouette leapt at him with a vicious swing. Sora leapt backwards and aimed his Keyblade right at the fake moon, sending out another pure white beam of light at the moon, shattering it into pieces. The eight blades on the claymore vanished and Saix's crazed expression vanished with them. Sora then flew down with his Keyblade reared back. The shield vanished as the Keyblade started glowing with white light, leaving a long trail of light from behind it as it flew through the air. Saix raised his claymore in a defensive posture but it was no good as Sora's Keyblade sliced right through both it, and Saix. Sora slid to a stop and turned towards Saix who was now breathing heavily and raggedly as he started to turn transparent. At the last second he threw back his fading head and let out one final enraged roar which echoed on the winds.

The Melodious Nocturne and the Luna Diviner had been defeated for good.

"Sora? You okay?" Aqua asked as she hurried up to Sora who nodded. Both were breathing heavily from their battles.

"So…Xehanort's still around huh?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Looks like it." She said as she straightened up and looked towards the abandoned castle with a curious expression. Sora noticed her reaction.

"That was Maleficent's castle back during my original adventure over a year ago. She abandoned it recently after we defeated over a thousand heartless in one battle.

"That must have been some difficult feat. Fighting one thousand heartless singlehandedly could not have been easy." Aqua said as Sora shrugged.

"We all pulled through it." Sora replied. They then heard what sounded like a horse whinny. They turned and saw a familiar horse flying through the sky with a pair of familiar riders on the back.

"Lightning! Hope!" Sora exclaimed as the horse landed on the ledge with them and its two riders dismounted.

"What brings you guys here?" Aqua asked.

"We were told by some of the kids on the Destiny Islands, that Lightning's sister had come here recently. We saw you guys just standing here so we figured we'd stop by and say 'hey' first." Hope said as Lightning nodded and dismissed the horse.

"Though why would anyone want to come back and see this?" Lightning asked, staring at the castle.

"Don't worry, Serah's here. She's in town right now. We were just heading back that way right now. You're free to join us if you want." Aqua said as she and Sora started walking back towards the town, with Lightning and Hope close behind.

* * *

**Back in town…**

Sora, Aqua, Lightning, and Hope arrived outside Merlin's House where they heard what sounded like Yuffie chanting Tifa's name. They walked in to find Snow and Tifa arm wrestling on the pedestal in the center of the room. Cid, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, were watching in silence as Serah rooted for Snow. The two were making no progress what so ever, just causing their arms to shake as they pushed. Lightning rolled her eyes and stormed up to Snow before smacking him upside the head, causing him to lose the match.

"ACH! That doesn't count!" Snow said as he spun around to try and identify the attacker, but came face to face with…

"Dah! Lightning!" Snow yelped before Lightning grabbed him by the collar and shoved him down onto the table with a dagger pressed against his neck.

"HEY! What's the deal?!" Aqua asked as everyone drew their weapons to stop the soldier.

"Where have you been Snow?! Where's Serah?!" Lightning asked angrily. Snow pointed over Lightning's shoulder. Lightning turned and spotted the stunned Serah.

"Claire! It really is you!" Serah exclaimed, throwing her arms around her older sister. Hope couldn't help but snicker.

"Lightning's real name is Claire." Hope giggled before receiving a death glare from Lightning.

"Where have you been Serah? I've been looking all over for you for years. Snow was supposed to take you to the rendezvous point but he never showed." Lightning said as Snow started to climb up onto his feet.

"My bike had issues getting there so we went to the closest world we could find. Sora's homeworld, the Destiny Islands." Snow explained.

"It was an accident Claire. We never intended to hide from you." Serah said as Lightning nodded.

"I understand. At least you're alright. Snow hasn't done anything to you while I was away has he?" Lightning asked as Serah blushed and smiled bashfully.

"Well, we got engaged." Serah said as Snow grinned and put his arm around the two sisters.

"That's right, you're getting a brother-in-law. Right 'sis?" Snow said, causing Lightning's eye to twitch in annoyance. Sora and Aqua took this as a cue to leave.

"Uh, we really must be going. We've got to get Sora trained and all so we really need to go. So, uh, bye." Aqua said as she and Sora quickly beat a hasty retreat before Lightning exploded. They were almost to the steps to the Bailey when Leon caught up with them.

"Hey, before you leave, I thought I should let you guys know something that may interest you." Leon said as Aqua and Sora turned to him curiously.

"Oh? Like what?" Sora asked.

"When the King dropped off Snow and Serah, he also gave us a message to give you. He says that Yen Sid sent him a message recently saying that there's something strange going on in Twilight Town. He wanted the two of you to investigate it." Leon explained. Aqua looked at him curiously.

"Twilight Town? I don't think I've ever been there." Aqua said as Sora smiled.

"It's a nice place. I've been there a few times. It's also the passage way to the World that Never Was, the former Homeworld of the Nobodies. Roxas spent a lot of time there. In fact whenever I think of Twilight Town, I feel at home because of Roxas." Sora said as Aqua turned to Leon.

"Then we'll investigate Twilight Town immediately." Aqua said as Sora suddenly grinned excitedly.

"Really?! We will?!" He asked. As he asked that though, Roxas briefly and partially manifested. Aqua noticed this and nodded.

"Of course we will. I get the feeling though, that Roxas wouldn't mind visiting that place too." Aqua said as Sora smiled.

"We better get going. We don't have much time to lose." Aqua said as Leon nodded.

"Good luck. You might need it." Leon said as Aqua and Sora took off for the bailey.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Curse you and your meddling! I could have defeated them were it not for you!"

"Just because you can overpower me in this state, doesn't mean that I can't make things difficult for you."

"So this just means that I'm going to have to find a way to destroy you first!"

"You might be able to suppress me, but when I don't try and exert my influence, I don't waste as much energy, so I can store it up to use against you later for times like that."

"I see. You are a persistent nuisance. But once your friends are no more, then there won't be any point in dealing with you."

"Laugh while you can. Because I'm not letting you win. You might win a few battles here and there, but you will ultimately lose the war."

"Bold words for one who has such little influence."

"Are you certain?"

"NRGRAHH! Curse you! Curse you to oblivion!"

"See, I can influence you, more than you realize. Why not take a break for a while and let me drive."

"NNGGGG! GRAHHHHHH!!!"

"Fight all you want, I'm going to take a walk."

* * *

**End Chapter 15.**

Please don't get into arguments about who is stronger, Snow or Tifa, because this isn't the place for it.


	16. Twilight Town Part 1

Sora & Aqua arrived outside the train station in Twilight Town, their armor and Keyblade Riders disappearing almost instantly. Sora looked out over the town from the balcony like overlook of the train station courtyard.

"This place hasn't changed at all. It's just as it was the last time." Sora said as Aqua looked around curiously.

"It does seem like a nice place to live. You say your Nobody lived here for a time?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Roxas came into being here, or at least that's what Riku told me. But judging by the way my heart feels right now, I'd say he was right." Sora said as he reached into his pocket, fingering the small sphere that Roxas had given him before vanishing. He then pulled the sphere from his pocket, looking at it silently.

"Come on. We should probably ask some of the locals if there's been any unusual activity going on lately." Aqua said as Sora had an idea, pocketing the sphere again.

"I know just who to ask. Come on, I'll introduce you to Hayner, Pence, and Olette!" Sora said as he took off towards the Usual Spot with Aqua in tow. No sooner were they out of sight, did a figure clad in black with blue bandages wrapped around its head appeared from inside the station, looking around curiously. It then looked up towards the sky and a look of silent realization hit him.

"Twilight Town." He whispered before turning and heading for the underground passage ways.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Sora and Aqua reached the alleyway leading to the Usual Spot. They could hear laughter coming from inside that Sora could tell was coming from Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Sora smiled warmly as he walked towards the entrance, pushing the curtain aside to reveal the three sitting around as usual eating ice cream. Olette was the first to notice his arrival.

"Sora! You're back!" Olette exclaimed as Hayner and Pence turned towards the young Keyblade Warrior.

"Hey guys. How are things?" Sora asked as the three crowded around.

"Pretty good actually. Seifer and his gang have been laying off of us lately. And that's fine by me." Hayner said as Pence nodded.

"It's quite strange actually." Pence said.

"What's strange?" Aqua asked, catching the attention of the three.

"Who's this?" Olette asked.

"Oh, my bad. This is Aqua, she's my Keyblade Master. She's teaching me to become a true Keyblade Master like her. Aqua, this is Hayner, Pence, and Olette." Sora introduced quickly as Aqua smiled and curtsied politely. The two boys smiled and gave polite nods while Olette curtsied as well.

"It's an honor to meet you all." Aqua said.

"So is this your first time in Twilight Town?" Hayner asked, walking up beside her. Aqua nodded.

"Pretty much. I've never known about this world until a while ago. Sora brought me here." Aqua replied as Pence hurried up next to her.

"Well then allow me to give you the grand tour." Hayner said with a charming smile.

"Or maybe she would like to have the tour with someone else." Pence said with his own charming smile. Hayner scowled at his friend who scowled back. Aqua was confused, but then again, so was Sora. The two boys grabbed Aqua by the hands and led her out the door, leaving a confused Sora and an exasperated Olette.

"What's with those two?" Sora asked as Olette sighed in annoyance.

"They're just boys. They're just now discovering girls." Olette replied as they started following after them.

"You're a girl, aren't you?" Sora asked, confused. Olette was less than amused.

"Never mind. This whole mess started happening when that strange orb appeared." Olette said as Sora looked confused again.

"Orb? What orb?" He asked.

"A while ago, Hayner and Seifer had gotten into a fight again over something and Hayner was getting pretty beat up…and badly too. Seifer was going to deliver a final blow to emphasize his point but before he could, this flying orb of fire appeared and blew Seifer's struggle bat to pieces. It then started lobbing fireballs at Seifer and his whole gang. We thought it was going to start attacking us too but it just hovered there for a moment then disappeared." Olette explained as they followed the trio to the marketplace.

"Was that the only time you saw this orb?" Sora asked as Olette shook her head.

"No its not. But we're the only ones who have seen it besides Seifer and his gang. Whenever it shows up, it always starts attacking Seifer and the Disciplinary Committee. Now Seifer won't even go near us. It's kinda…I dunno, vindicating and relaxing to know that neither Hayner nor Pence have to worry about getting picked on by Seifer and Rai. Fuu's not bad. She's actually kinda nice once you get to know her…and understand what she means when she speaks." Olette explained.

"Odd. I wonder if this orb will ever reappear." Sora said as Olette shrugged.

"The only way that'll happen is if Hayner and Seifer get into another argument." Olette replied.

"Hmm." Sora pondered. By now they had side stepped the trolley and were passing the hole in the wall that led to the abandoned mansion. Aqua, Hayner, and Pence stopped as they reached the hole, or rather Aqua stopped and the other two stopped with her.

"Where does this lead?" Aqua asked.

"It leads to the old mansion. It's a mysterious place." Pence replied.

"Some say it's haunted. Others say it's just an old wives tale." Hayner added as Aqua turned to Sora as he and Olette finally caught up.

"Sora, what do you think of the place?" Aqua asked.

"It's where Roxas came into being. It's also where the passageway to the World that Never Was, err, was." Sora replied sheepishly as Aqua nodded understandingly.

"Then we should probably check it out." Aqua said as she headed through the hole in the wall.

"We'll wait here till you get back." Olette called as Sora followed after his master.

"So what was Olette telling you about back there? I could tell you were talking, just not what you were talking about." Aqua replied.

"She was telling me that there was some strange orb flying around town, protecting them against Seifer and the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee." Sora said as Aqua looked curious.

"A flying orb? Hmm. How odd." Aqua said as Sora nodded in agreement. They finally reached the gates of the Old Mansion, where they sat standing wide open.

"Hmm. So this is the Old Mansion huh? Spooky looking place." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"Kairi's nobody, Namine, used to stay here too. So did Riku and the King. I remember that this place was where I woke up after a long dream. According to Riku, my memories had to be restored after they were so badly damaged, so he and Ansem the Wise put me in some kind of pod that would restore my memories. I think he said it took almost a year to do." Sora explained as Aqua looked up at the Old Mansion.

"I see. Perhaps we should check out the inside." Aqua said as she and Sora started walking towards the door. As they did, they could feel a sudden chill in the air, like the one they felt when Xehanort was around. They both stopped as they reached the door.

"Do you feel that?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Xehanort's here." Sora said as they summoned their Keyblades.

"We kick down the door on three. One…two…THREE!!!" Aqua shouted as they kicked down the door. They slowly walked inside, hearing a pair of footsteps other than their own as they walked inward towards the center of the room.

"You made it." A voice echoed. It sounded like Xehanort, but the malicious tone was curiously missing. He also sounded relieved.

"Xehanort! We know you're in here! Show yourself!" Sora shouted into the room. Then a shadowy figure stumbled into the light.

"Aqua…please." The figure said pleadingly. Xehanort's face could partially be seen from within his hood but his eyes were blue instead of the villainous red and yellow.

"Hey! You've got a lot to answer for Xehanort!" Sora said angrily but Aqua cautiously stepped towards him.

"Sora…wait." She said softly as she raised her Keyblade towards Xehanort's head, gently pushing the hood down, revealing Xehanort's hair had turned a graying brown. Xehanort was acting like he was trying to stay alive as if injured. Aqua looked at Xehanort with a look of sadness.

"Is…is it really you? Is it really you, Terra?" She asked as Xehanort nodded, looking into her eyes. Sora's eyes widened, stepping backwards in shock.

"_What was it she called him?"_ Sora asked mentally.

"It's me, Aqua. I can prove it." He winced, reaching into his left sleeve. Aqua quickly held her Keyblade in a defensive posture just in case. Xehanort instead pulled out a small, brown, and star shaped charm, matching Aqua's almost completely save for the color. Aqua looked at the charm and tears of joy started to flow from her eyes.

"Terra. It really is you." Aqua said with a smile. She moved to try and hug him but he raised his hand to keep her back.

"KEEP AWAY! I don't know how long I'm going to stay this way. He could reassert his influence any second now! I needed to see you. I needed to warn you. Xehanort is planning to-DERRRAUGH!" Terra howled in agony.

"Terra! Terra stay with me! What does Xehanort plan to do?!" Aqua asked pleadingly. Terra gripped the sides of his head in agony.

"He's trying to find King-DAAAUGH!!!" He howled. He started glowing with black and red energy, his hair changing between gray and brown rapidly. His eye colors changing between blue and the red and yellow.

"King? King Mickey? Kingdom Hearts?!" Aqua asked as Terra howled in pain again before he collapsed onto the floor, the hood falling down over his head. Aqua attempted to move to help him but Sora stopped her.

"WAIT!" Sora shouted as he pulled Aqua back by her collar.

"You should listen to your apprentice, girl." Terra said, but his tone had changed back to sounding like Xehanort. He started pulling himself up onto his feet before pulling away the robes, revealing Xehanort in his black coat and white gloves underneath. Terra had reverted to Xehanort again.

"Xehanort!" Sora growled.

"Quite the pest, our boy Terra. Never knows when to just give up." Xehanort snarled as he dangled Terra's charm by the string, looking at it in disgust. He then dropped the charm onto the ground and was about to move to crush it but was knocked back by a beam of red energy. The beam launched him into the back windows, shattering them. Sora and Aqua were stunned. They were not the ones to send the beam into Xehanort. They turned and saw the blue bandaged figure with a snarl on his face and a strange mechanical device in his hands that looked like a gun of some sort.

"XEHANORT!!!" he shouted in anger as he walked towards the blindsided Xehanort.

"YOU!" Xehanort growled as he summoned his black and thorned Keyblade. He then raised his free hand upwards towards the sky, causing a black orb to appear in his hand. He then aimed it at the sky causing the orb to shoot straight up into the clouds overhead. Aqua and Sora were watching in confusion. The bandaged man continued to approach Xehanort who snarled and disappeared in a Corridor of Darkness. The bandaged man dropped the device and attempted to chase after him but the corridor disappeared before he could reach it. Instead he conjured up his own corridor and was about to enter it when Sora and Aqua ran up.

"Hey! Wait! Who are you!?" Aqua asked the man. The man looked over his shoulder and looked at her with a curious expression.

"I am Darkness in Zero." The figure said as Aqua looked confused but Sora's eyes widened.

"Darkness in Zero…wait a minute! You mean that you're-!" Sora exclaimed but the man walked into the Corridor before it closed behind him.

"Who was that Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora looked up at her in surprise.

"If I'm correct, that was Ansem the Wise we just saw!" Sora exclaimed, earning surprised look from Aqua.

"What?! I thought you said he was dead?!" Aqua asked.

"I thought he was too. Maybe…maybe he didn't die. Maybe that device just sent him somewhere, somewhere we couldn't find him." Sora replied as Aqua shrugged.

"Well whatever the case, we-." She said but was interrupted by a violent tremor in the ground.

"What was that?!" Aqua asked.

"It came from the city!" Sora replied as they quickly started running back through and out the mansion. When they finally reached the tram way, they looked up towards the platform where the train station was, and blinked in shock.

"What is that?!" Aqua asked. There was a towering white beast clutched to the clock tower. Sora didn't recognize it but it was familiar to him. He then felt something in his pocket shaking. He reached in and pulled out the blue sphere with the XIII etched into it. It was glowing brightly and Sora tossed it into the air, where it suddenly exploded in a burst of white light. When the light faded, Roxas was standing in his Twilight Town garb, looking up at the beast.

"It's a Twilight Thorn! It's the Nobody of the Darkside Heartless!" Roxas said as he summoned his two Keyblades. They then heard a loud crash. Hayner, Pence, and Olette came running up to them from the Market Street.

"That monster's blocked the road to the train station! There are people trapped inside the station!" Olette cried.

"The underground passageways, are they still open?!" Sora asked as the three turned towards the entrance to the passage ways before turning back and nodding.

"Yeah, but be careful! There could be some cave-ins!" Pence replied as Sora and Aqua looked at each other and nodded.

"Come on Roxas, you're with us!" Sora called as Roxas followed after them. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were stunned.

"Roxas?!" They asked in unison. Nearby, a floating orb, surrounded by a ring of fire hovered in the air overhead.

"_Roxas?"_ it asked.

**…**

Sora, Aqua, and Roxas hurried through the underground passageways, charging for the exit near the train station. As they ran, Sora gave Aqua a couple of unsure glances. Aqua noticed this.

"What is it Sora?!" She asked as they ran.

"A moment ago, you called Xehanort, Terra! What did you mean?!" Sora asked as Aqua gave him an exasperated look.

"You really want to talk about this now?!" Aqua asked as they dodged a piece of falling rock. Sora was going to argue but Roxas interrupted.

"Save it for later! Right now we've got a Twilight Thorn to deal with!" Roxas yelled as they emerged onto the platform. They looked up and saw the Twilight Thorn simply clutching onto the tower. Roxas quickly leapt backwards and then leapt up towards the tower, landing on the side before running upwards towards the beast. Roxas took a mean swing at the giant Nobody's hand, causing it to lose its grip and tumble towards the platform. Aqua and Sora quickly leapt away in opposite directions as the Twilight Thorn crashed into the ground headfirst. Roxas landed on the ground next to Sora as he and Aqua looked at the seemingly dead Nobody.

"Is that it?" Aqua asked. They then heard cheering from the streets below.

"Sounds like the people think you two are heroes." Roxas said as Sora shrugged.

"No, you would be the hero, Roxas. You killed it." Sora said as Roxas smirked.

"Well. Either way, you're still the he-SORA LOOK OUT!!!" Roxas shouted as the Twilight Thorn attempted to grab the Keyblade warrior but Roxas shoved him out of the way in time, instead grabbing Roxas. The giant nobody climbed up onto its feet, clutching Roxas in its awkwardly shaped hands. Roxas felt it trying to squeeze him to death but a quick wave of multicolored bolts of energy hit the creature head on.

"Put him down!" Aqua ordered as the Twilight Thorn let out a roar and attempted to crush her. Aqua simply leapt out of the way.

The battle of Twilight Town had started anew.

* * *

**End Chapter 7.**


	17. Twilight Town Part 2

Twilight Thorn, the largest Nobody in existence, had Roxas clutched in its giant and weirdly shaped hands while Sora and Aqua glared up at the beast with their weapons primed.

Sora quickly fired a Firaga blast up at the beast's arms, causing it to bend and wobble in unnatural ways as if it were made of rubber. The Twilight Thorn looked down and attempted to stomp on the young Keyblade wielder but Sora dodge rolled out of the way. It then aimed its other arm at Sora, causing it to extend at an unnatural speed and lengthen to grab him. Now Sora and Roxas both were in the monster's hands.

Just then, a series of large energy filled bubbles appeared around the creature's head. As it looked around, Sora and Roxas noticed Aqua hanging off the back of its head with a bubble of magic around her. She quickly leapt up as the spheres flew inward and crowded around the monster's head, exploding in a fantastic light, causing it to drop both of its captives. Sora landed next to Aqua, whose protective bubble had popped by now, while Roxas landed to the monster's right. The creature then created a blinding white flash. When the light faded, all three of them were entrapped by four glowing lights, one on each of their wrists, and one on each of their ankles, and suspended in midair with their arms and legs stretched out as if they were making an X. Oddly the Twilight Thorn had vanished. Their Keyblades however were still in hand.

"UGH! I can't move!" Aqua said as she pulled against the spheres of light but to no avail.

"Wait for it!" Roxas replied.

"For what?!" Sora asked back. Just then the Twilight Thorn appeared suddenly and reared back its fist.

"NOW!!!" Roxas shouted as for a brief instant the spheres vanished and the three were able to move. They quickly leapt up and each delivered a fierce blow to the monster's head, knocking it backwards into the clock tower before the spheres of light appeared again and they were stuck. The Twilight Thorn recovered and extended its snake like arms at them, grabbing them all within his grasp before hurling them all into the air. It then started to swing its arm around in an effort to swat them down.

"AGAIN!!!" Roxas shouted as the three jolted forward, narrowly dodging the creature's hand and again delivering a fierce blow to its head, causing it to stagger backwards. The three landed on the top of the clock tower, looking down at the monster's head. It then staggered slightly as it stood up, turning its head a full one eighty degrees to "stare" at them. It then held its hands up into the air, creating a massive white and grey sphere of Nothingness energy over its head.

"Uh oh." Sora said as the clock tower suddenly shook, and a burst of black and white thorns erupted from the sides, knocking the three off. They started falling, their trajectory leading them straight towards the sphere of energy.

"THROW THE KEYBLADES!!!" Roxas shouted as they each threw their Keyblades, causing the sphere to explode in the giant Nobody's face and topple over onto its chest. The three Keyblade wielders landed softly on its back.

"Hurry! Now's our chance! Let's end this thing!" Aqua said as they re-summoned their Keyblades and leapt for its head, but the creature recovered too soon and started to stand up, turning menacingly towards the three Keyblade warriors.

"What now?!" Aqua asked.

"Hit it with everything we've got!" Roxas replied before the monster started spitting black and white thorns of nothingness at them, causing them all to have to start evading.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Aqua shouted as they continued avoiding the thorns.

"There has to be some way to defeat it! Roxas, how did you kill it last time?!" Sora asked while dodging.

"I kept hitting its head till it died! That's all I remember!" Roxas replied.

"Then we keep aiming for the head!" Aqua said as she started sliding up towards the Twilight Thorn's head. She leapt up towards it with her Keyblade reared back. Before she could land a blow however, a strange white bird shaped creature flew up and smacked her down towards the ground. It was a Creeper Nobody.

"Oh great! It's called in reinforcements!" Roxas shouted as Aqua hit the ground hard. Sora and Roxas hurried over to her. She was still conscious but she did have the wind knocked out of her. They looked up in the sky around the Twilight Thorn's head as dozens of Creepers appeared floating in the air around it.

"What do we do now?!" Sora asked as the Twilight Thorn reared back its fist. Sora and Roxas quickly raised their Keyblades, but Aqua was still unable to move. The Twilight Thorn threw its fist forward but just before it hit…

**FWOOSH!!!**

A massive jet of flames flew in and hit the Twilight Thorn's fist, knocking the giant Nobody off guard. Sora, Roxas, and Aqua were stunned. They quickly started looking around until Roxas finally saw it. A floating grey orb surrounded by a ring of fire. Sora saw it too and recognized it from Olette's description.

"That's the orb! That's the orb that's been keeping Hayner, Pence, and Olette safe from Seifer and his gang!" Sora exclaimed as Roxas approached the orb curiously. The Creepers and the Twilight Thorns were totally discombobulated by the sudden and unexpected attack. As Roxas walked closer, he saw something in the center of the orb that was very familiar to him. He then heard a familiar voice from inside the orb speak…

"_Roxas...come closer."_ it said as Roxas stepped back in shock.

"Wait, that voice! I know that voice!" Roxas exclaimed before he walked up closer to the sphere.

"_I've got something to ask you." _The voice asked as Roxas smirked.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Roxas asked, looking at the image of two familiar chakrams inside the sphere. Suddenly the sphere exploded in a towering pillar of fire, causing Roxas to leap back to where Sora and the semi-recovered Aqua were. They then heard a familiar voice shout…

"**GOT IT MEMORIZED!?!?"**

The pillar of flames died down to reveal a figure in black Organization XIII robes. The figure threw its arms straight out to the sides, causing a pair of spinning, flaming, chakrams to appear before it grabbed them, the hood falling backwards as if by magic, revealing the grinning, spiky haired red headed pyromaniac underneath.

"Axel!" Sora exclaimed as Axel grinned.

"Yo Sora. I see you've gotten the three of you into a nice mess!" Axel said with a grin.

"WHAT?! I didn't do this?!" Sora exclaimed as Axel laughed.

"I know, I'm kidding! Anyway, these punks just don't know when to quit! What say we turn up the heat a little?!" Axel asked as he glared up at Twilight Thorn.

"Let's do it!" Aqua said as she climbed to her feet.

"Bring it on!" Sora added. Axel grinned at the sight before turning and looking at the Nobodies overhead.

"Come 'ere, I'll make it all stop!" Axel shouted to the nobodies before he started spinning his chakrams over his head, sending out small fireballs from the ends that arced upwards and homed in on the Creepers, shooting them out of the sky.

"Go! I'll deal with these punks!" Axel shouted as Roxas's Keyblades started to glow and he aimed them straight at the Twilight Thorn.

"Time for a taste of your own medicine!" Roxas shouted as his Keyblades suddenly spawned thirteen total clones made of Light. The Keyblade clones quickly divided into four groups of three, with one extra hovering on its lonesome. The Keyblade groups suddenly rammed themselves into the wrist and arms of the Twilight Thorn.

"Aqua! Sora! NOW!!!" Roxas shouted. Sora and Aqua turned and nodded to each other. They then grabbed each other's left hand, facing opposite directions. They then started channeling their energy together before they separated and a powerful whirlwind of energy appeared, swirling around them both. They both turned towards Twilight Thorn and leapt apart, literally flying around to opposite sides of the monster to where they were facing each other. They both reared back their Keyblades and flew straight at it, their Keyblades both glowing with a white light. They came together in a flash of blinding white light and when it faded the two had swung their Keyblades straight forward and had passed each other by, instead cutting completely through the towering Nobody. The monster let out an agonized roar as it started to fade away. Sora and Aqua landed on the ground next to Axel and Roxas before the beast exploded in a flash of brilliant light.

"HA! BURN BABY!" Axel shouted in victory.

"We did it!" Sora rejoiced.

"I suppose then, that you're on our side." Aqua said as Axel grinned and suddenly burst into flames.

"Nope." He replied with a grin. Sora, Roxas, and Aqua suddenly leapt back, their weapons primed. The flames around Axel suddenly died off as Axel's grin widened.

"PSYCH!!!" Axel laughed, causing the three to groan.

"Axel, it most certainly is you. Ugh." Roxas groaned.

"So glad you realized that Roxas." Axel said as he dismissed his chakrams.

"I don't get it. You were an Absent Silhouette just a moment ago. And I thought Absent Silhouettes were just the embodiments of a deceased Nobody's power. How did you regain your personality?" Aqua asked as Axel tapped his chin and shrugged.

"Not a clue really. I just know that I wake up on the top of the clock tower one day as a floating orb. So I decide to wander around for a while. Then I run into those three friends of Roxas' getting harassed by that punk in the ski-cap and so I decide to do the decent thing and give 'em a break. Then after a while I see the three of you charging through the tunnels to get to the Twilight Thorn and I decided to see how you guys fared." Axel explained.

"So when did you decide to intervene?" Roxas asked.

"When I got bored." Axel shrugged.

"Well we're glad you were there, Axel." Aqua asked as the Flurry of the Dancing Flames shot her a suave grin, sliding up next to her with his arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, so was I. What say you and I go light up the night some time babe?" Axel asked, cupping Aqua's chin as she blushed.

"Umm…I uh…" she stuttered. She had been caught off guard.

"Axel, let her go already." Roxas groaned.

"Quiet ya lil' weasel I'm on a roll here." Axel muttered to Roxas through clinched teeth.

"Uh, No you're not." Sora said, pointing nervously towards Aqua. Axel turned before paling and sweat dropping as he realized he was now grasping Aqua's right breast with the hand that was around her shoulder and Aqua was emanating a murderous aura of impending doom as she glared daggers at him. Axel quickly removed his hand and hid behind Sora and Roxas.

"Don't…do that…again." Aqua warned before turning around and crossing her arms over her chest. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Axel you're an idiot." Roxas grumbled.

"Can you blame a guy for admiring art when he sees it?!" Axel asked as Roxas groaned, while face palming. They then noticed as Hayner, Pence, and Olette emerged from the underground passage.

"You did it! You killed the monster!" Pence exclaimed as they hurried up to them.

"Yeah, this calls for a celebration!" Hayner declared as Olette immediately produced seven sticks of sea-salt ice cream.

"None for Axel?" Axel asked curiously.

"I always carry a spare, but…who are you anyway?" Olette asked as she handed him a stick of ice cream.

"The name's Axel, that's A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Axel said with a grin.

"He's the former eighth member of Organization XIII. He's on our side now. He helped us defeat the Twilight Thorn." Sora explained.

"He's also been your guardian angel as of late." Aqua added.

"Huh?" Hayner asked mid-lick.

"What do you mean?" Pence asked.

"You three seem to have an issue with that punk with the ski-cap and followed by the albino chick and the muscle brained idiot. There's also the little guy with the funky hat too but he doesn't seem to be a real problem." Axel explained.

"That's no news. Everyone in Twilight Town knows Seifer's a bully and that Hayner is his favorite target." Olette said as Axel shrugged.

"Okay then, but how do you explain the fireball that torched the punk's bat, the ice cream that quickly melted in their hands when they stole it from the three of you, and the coup de grace, the time when that extra strength stink bomb spontaneously exploded on them, making them smell like gym shorts for three days straight?" Axel asked with a grin. Roxas, Sora, and Aqua were suppressing their laughter at the mental images conjured up by Axel's explanation.

"How did you know about all that?" Olette asked.

"We were the only ones who witnessed it all." Pence said.

"Unless…unless you were that flying fireball that's been saving our hides from the Disciplinary Committee." Hayner said as Axel grinned again.

"No charge." Axel replied as he bit down on the ice cream bar.

"Only one question though…why?" Olette asked. Axel paused for a moment and looked at them curiously.

"I…I dunno really. Why did I help them out?" Axel asked himself. Roxas then put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Maybe because…because you were trying to find a friend. You knew I was one with Sora again, and you were lonely. You wanted friendship and so when you saw Hayner, Pence, and Olette in trouble, you decided to try and help them, because you knew that I was friends with them once too. Am I wrong, Axel?" Roxas asked as Axel pondered for a moment before turning towards the three who were smiling up at him.

"Well if you wanted friendship, I'd say that you got it." Hayner said with a smile.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to protect us all the time just to earn our friendship." Pence added.

"You just had to ask." Olette said as Axel smiled with a satisfied chuckle.

"Whoa. Hold me Roxas I think I'm gonna faint." Axel said as Roxas arched a curious eyebrow.

"Huh?" Roxas asked as Axel put his hand over his chest.

"I think…I think I know why I retained my personality, even after becoming an Absent Silhouette." Axel said.

"You do?" Sora asked. Aqua smiled, knowing the answer.

"He found his heart." Aqua said as Sora and Roxas looked at her in amazement before turning towards the red haired pyro.

"Nothing gets by you does it babe?" Axel asked, causing Aqua to scowl again.

"I think I understand. It's just like with the second tier of my Command Styles, they're formed through the bonds I make in my heart. With nobodies, their hearts are formed when they create bonds with people who have hearts." Sora said as Aqua smiled and nodded.

"Very profound, Sora. It does make sense though." Aqua said as Hayner and Pence looked at each other curiously.

"Would that be why we've been chasing girls a lot lately?" Hayner asked curiously as Axel sweat dropped again.

"Definitely." Aqua said with a twitchy eyed glare. Axel quickly put Hayner, Pence, and Olette between him and the Keyblade Master. Olette suddenly gasped.

"Hey look! I won!" She declared, holding up her empty ice cream stick.

"Won? Won what?" Sora asked.

"Oh just a free ice cream. Sometimes you'll find a stick of ice cream that has the word "WINNER" printed on the stick. You just turn it in to the nearest ice cream vendor and they'll give you a voucher for a free stick of ice cream." Hayner explained. Olette looked at the ice cream stick for a moment before turning and giving it to Axel.

"Here, as a symbol of our new found friendship." Olette said as Axel took the stick with a touched smile.

"Wow. Thanks guys." Axel said.

"Well, I guess we better hit the road. Right Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. We need to keep going. We're on a mission and we can't afford to waste much time." Sora said as Roxas nodded.

"Yeah and I better stick with him, just so he doesn't get into trouble." Roxas said as Axel smirked and nodded.

"He's going to need all the help he can get. Speaking of which, here." Axel said, tossing a small red pendant with the symbol of his chakrams on it to Sora.

"What's this?" Sora asked.

"If you ever need my help, you just need to holler. Got it memorized?" Axel said with a smirk.

"Thanks Axel. I'll hold onto this." Sora said as he turned to Roxas.

"It's that time huh?" Roxas asked as Sora took a deep breath and nodded. Roxas smiled understandingly.

"Hey, look sharp." Roxas said as he started to glow with a white aura before disappearing in a blinding flash of light. When the light faded, the blue sphere with the XIII etched on it was all that remained. Sora silently pocketed the two items before turning to Aqua.

"Well. Let's go." Sora said.

"Right. Goodbye everyone!" Aqua said as she turned to summon her Keyblade Rider.

"Bye! Oh wait!" Pence exclaimed as he reached in his pocket.

"What? What is it?" Aqua asked as Pence pulled out Terra's Lucky Charm.

"We found this when we snuck into the mansion while you were fighting the monster, and we thought that you might have dropped it. Is it yours?" Pence asked as Aqua took the charm in stunned silence.

"I made it, yes. But it belongs to a friend. I'll be sure to give it back to him when I see him again…if I see him again." Aqua said, pocketing the charm, not noticing the distrusting look Sora was giving her.

"Come on Aqua. Are we going or not?" Sora asked, summoning his Keyblade Rider and armor and hopping on.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Geez where's the fire, Sora?" Aqua asked as she summoned her Keyblade Rider. Axel snickered at the comment.

"Where's the fire? RIGHT HERE!!!" Axel shouted, raising his hands in the air while holding fireballs in each. Hayner, Pence, and Olette each started laughing, so did Aqua.

"Well, so long kids! See ya round!" Aqua called out as her armor appeared around her. She and Sora then took to the stars.

**…**

"You're kinda quiet, Sora. Something on your mind?" Aqua asked as they flew amongst the stars.

"Where are we going next?" Sora asked bluntly.

"I figured we should start focusing on Shoot Locks next, and those require a lot of magic skill to pull off. I thought, why not just go to the same place Master Eraqus sent Ven, myself, and Terra to learn them?" Aqua said as she flew ahead of Sora slightly.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked curiously.

"A world you probably have never been to. It's called Magician's Bayou. It's full of people who are masters of magic." Aqua said as Sora shrugged.

"Sounds great." He said halfheartedly. Aqua noticed his response and glanced over her shoulder at him curiously.

"_Something's eating him. I'm going to have to find out what it is when we get to Magician's Bayou."_ Aqua said in her mind as they soared through the stars.

* * *

**End Chapter 17.**


	18. Magician's Bayou

Sora and Aqua touched down in the middle of a swampy clearing, surrounded by trees.

"Where are we?" Sora asked as their Keyblade Riders and armor disappeared. Aqua smiled.

"Magician's Bayou. It's a world that many of the most powerful practitioners of magic come to visit, usually for various magic items or other things. This is the best place to help you learn the Shoot Locks." Aqua said as she spotted a dirt path.

"What's the difference from a Shoot Lock and a Command Style?" Sora asked as they started walking along the path.

"Well, in general, it depends on where the power comes from. Command Styles depend on the heart, while Shoot Locks come from the Keyblade and armor. That's why you and I wear these armor plates on our shoulders." Aqua explained.

"That and to summon the armor when we need it." Sora said as Aqua chuckled.

"Well that goes without saying." Aqua replied as they entered into a peaceful looking town made of simple wooden shacks and shanties. Some of the chimneys on the stacks were belching smoke of various colors, like red, blue, or green.

"This is it?" Sora asked as Aqua chuckled again.

"Yep. The wizards like to live simply here." Aqua said as they walked through the town. It was quite larger than it seemed, several twists and turns on the muddy ground and sturdy wooden ramps, led to different areas of the town. Aqua seemed to be searching for one place in particular. They came to a stop outside a large two story mansion on the edge of town.

"Who lives here?" Sora asked.

"The wizard who taught Ven, Terra, and I practically everything we know about Shoot Locks. I should warn you though; she's a bit of um…an experience." Aqua said as Sora scratched his head curiously.

"Okay?" he said confused as they approached the door. Aqua was about to knock when the door magically opened on its own. They looked at each other and shrugged before slowly entering the grand mansion.

"I see that I have two visitors. Better be good, or I'll toss you out like bad transistors." A haughty woman's voice echoed down the hall.

"I forgot about her penchant for speaking in rhyme." Aqua mumbled with an amused smile.

"Forgotten so much in so little time? Quite entertaining it is to speak in rhyme." The woman said as Sora and Aqua entered a well lit room adorned with lavish and decorative rugs from worlds far and wide. On one wall were nearly fifty diplomas and several boxes full of assorted magical items. There was a couch along a wall with a window behind it and sitting against the adjoining wall was a small red chair. Sitting in the chair was a very short woman with a small black nose and pointed ears. Her hair was blond and in a pair of short pigtails. She wore a robe with black and white stripes, gold linings, and two matching gauntlets. Resting against the chair next to her was a staff with a red gem embedded in the top.

"Professor Shantotto, the greatest wizard around." Aqua said as the tiny woman chuckled and hopped off the chair. She was so short, the top of her head only reached Sora's jaw.

"I see you remembered my name, and acknowledged my fame. Aqua, so faithful and trusting, after eleven years I thought your skills would be rusting." Shantotto (Final Fantasy XI) said with a smile.

"Professor, this is-." "Sora, chosen by destiny's light. Here to learn Shoot Locks to drive off the night." Shantotto explained with a nod to the young Keybearer.

"Wha-! You know my name?" Sora asked as Shantotto laughed heartily.

"But of course I know your name. For it is losers like you that I must tame. And my race, before you ask, is known as Tarutaru and in my presence, you may now bask." Shantotto said, semi-insulting Sora.

"Did she just-." "Call you a loser? Yeah get used to it, she does that to everyone." Aqua said as Shantotto laughed again.

"My this is going to be such fun. It's been a long time since I've had someone to run. But first, before we go much further, tell me your tales for I've been waiting with such fervor." Shantotto said, motioning for them to sit down. Sora and Aqua both sat down on the couch while Shantotto took the chair.

"Well, where would you like us to begin?" Sora asked. Shantotto shrugged.

"Begin where you will, if you please. I find things go easier with some crackers and cheese." Shantotto said as she snapped her fingers and a tea cart filled with various teas, crackers, and assorted cheeses appeared in a burst of smoke.

"Don't eat or drink anything." Aqua whispered, making a cutting motion with her hand across her neck. Sora got the message.

"Well, I guess we could start with when Aqua and I first met. I washed up on the shores of the Realm of Darkness…" Sora started to explain.

* * *

**A few minutes later…**

"Then we defeated the Twilight Thorn and left Axel in Twilight Town before we came here." Sora finished explained as Shantotto took a sip of tea.

"Ah, a resounding tail, but the lack of details is where you fail. But all of this is now irrelevant, for an old wind bag comes, and is about to rant." Shantotto said with an amused smile. Merlin then burst in an annoyed expression.

"Now-now-now see here madam! I will not have you calling me old! I mean really!" Merlin said crossing his arms.

"Merlin! It's you!" Sora exclaimed as the wizard turned to the young Keybearer.

"Sora my lad, how have you been?" Merlin asked with a smile.

"I've been pretty good." Sora replied.

"Good to see you're still young as ever." Aqua said as Merlin laughed.

"Ah, Aqua always good to see you as well. I heard from Leon that you were back, and I must say that I'm quite relieved." Merlin said as Shantotto snapped her fingers, causing a chair to appear behind the wizard. When he moved to sit down however the chair slid backwards, causing him to fall flat on his bum. Sora and Aqua quickly covered their mouths, turning red from holding in their laughter. Shantotto was smiling mischievously.

"Shantotto you-you-you, gremlin!" Merlin spat angrily as he pulled himself into the chair.

"Flattery gets you absolutely and positively nowhere. By the way, whatever happened to all your hair?" Shantotto asked with a sneaky grin. Merlin just scowled and pulled his pipe from his hat, smoking it in annoyance.

"Um, can we get to the topic at hand? Namely teaching Sora the Shoot Locks?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah, I'm kinda eager to start learning them." Sora said as Shantotto leapt off the chair and grabbed her staff.

"If you insist we go before this becomes an obsession, come with me for class is now in session." Shantotto said as they each followed her out the front door.

"Being the master, you should instruct. It is my job to watch and his…to self-destruct." Shantotto said, pointing to Merlin with a hearty laugh, further annoying the wizard.

"Okay then Sora. Like I said a while ago, the Shoot Locks don't come from the heart like the Command Styles do. They come from the Keyblade and armor. But the thing is that they're all unique to the wielder." Aqua said as Sora pondered.

"I'm not sure I understand." Sora said as he scratched his head.

"Okay, let me put it this way. Every Keyblade wielder has their basic Keyblade right? Like mine here is…oh hang on a second." Aqua said as she pulled the keychain from her Keyblade, causing it to revert to the basic shape.

"This is my basic Keyblade, the Rain Fall Keyblade. It doesn't matter what Keyblade you're wielding at a given time, the same three abilities stay with you regardless of the keychain being used by the Keyblade." Aqua said, placing the keychain back onto her Keyblade, making it revert to the other form, Rain Storm.

"So the basic Keyblade and the armor gives you your Shoot Locks?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Yes they do. And despite what I said earlier, the heart has a brief role in determining what Shoot Locks you will gain. It's like the heart has a set of blueprints that it works on and alters as time goes on until a Keyblade comes along and gives the blueprints for the Keyblade to work from. The Shoot Locks stay within the Keyblade itself. The heart only updates them and changes them accordingly. They don't gain their power from the heart." Aqua explained as Sora nodded understandingly.

"I think I get it now. So how do they work?" Sora asked.

"The way it works is kinda tricky. You have to aim your Keyblade at your opponent or opponents, using it like the sights on a gun barrel, to mark which enemies you want to target. For some abilities, the targeting aspect doesn't matter and it relies on simply charging the Keyblade with energy. For instance, you've probably noticed me fire off a number of multi-colored bolts of energy on occasion right? That was Rainbow Shower, one of my shoot locks. The one you saw me use in Olympus Coliseum against the Heartless was Shiny Bloom, and the one I used to attack the Twilight Thorn, the one with those magic filled bubbles, was Bubble Blaster. There was also one you almost got creamed with when we were facing Lingering Sentiment. One of Terra's most powerful Shoot Locks, called Ultima Cannon." Aqua said as Sora's smile vanished at the mention of Terra.

"Oh. I see." Sora said. Aqua noticed this and glanced over her shoulder at the two wizards who were watching in silence.

"Okay, hold on. Training's on pause for a minute. What's your problem Sora? You've been all sulky since Twilight Town. Is there something wrong?" Aqua asked as Sora sighed.

"It was something that happened in the old mansion. You called Xehanort something. Something that I hope wasn't, and isn't, true." Sora said as Aqua arched a confused eyebrow.

"I don't remember calling him anything out of the ordinary. Just by his na-…oh." Aqua said as her eyes widened in realization, "I haven't been completely upfront with you have I Sora?"

Sora looked at her with an annoyed look on his face.

"I dunno, have you?" Sora asked, crossing his arms.

"Well…" Aqua said, feeling small.

"Tell me the truth. Why did you call Xehanort, Terra?" Sora asked as Aqua took a deep breath.

"Because…Xehanort, is Terra." Aqua said as Sora looked away in annoyance.

"I knew it! I knew there was something extra to all this!" Sora said angrily.

"Sora, wait! Let me explain!" Aqua said pleadingly as Sora shook his head.

"Xehanort is Terra?! You're trying to reconnect with your friend who happens to be the world's greatest enemy?! I don't believe this!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sora! Please!" Aqua pleaded, on the verge of tears.

"I'm not helping you try and make friends with Xehanort, not after all he's put me and my friends through! His heartless possessed Riku! He stole Kairi's heart! He made the Heartless, which not only destroyed countless other worlds, but my world also! He created Organization XIII through his nobody! An Organization, who shattered my memories and caused me to have to spend a whole year asleep inside a giant pod! A year of my life I can never have back! I've been willing to go this far Aqua, for yours and Ven's sake. But I refuse to go this far for Xehanort." Sora said, turning his back to her. Aqua was on her knees by now, tears flowing.

"Sora! Please! It's not what you think!" Aqua said but Sora ignored her.

"It's time I went off on my own from here. Goodbye…Aqua." Sora said, walking off down the road, leaving Aqua behind on her knees, watching him disappear into the streets.

"Sora! Sora no!" Aqua called out tearfully reaching for him before her arm dropped in defeat. Shantotto and Merlin then approached from behind.

"Ven…Terra. I've failed you both. I've even failed you, Master Eraqus." Aqua sobbed, looking at both hers and Terra's lucky charms.

"You shed your tears in vain. Pursue him so his trust you may regain." Shantotto said as Aqua looked up at them curiously.

"What?" Aqua asked.

"What are you waiting for madam?! Go after him!" Merlin said as he helped Aqua onto her feet.

"But he won't believe me…will he?" Aqua asked as Shantotto laughed heartily again.

"The truth shall set your spirits free, and once again your apprentice he will be." Shantotto said as Aqua nodded with a look of determination.

"Right. I just hope he listens." Aqua said before she ran off, hot on Sora's trail.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Sora was walking alone through the streets, still a little upset over the recent confrontation. He suddenly felt himself trip and fall face first into the mud. As he push himself up and wiped the mud off his face, he saw a pair of black and white wing tipped shoes. He looked up to see a dark skinned man in a black suit, matching pants, purple vest, tribal necklace, and a top hat with a skull and crossbones on it with a feather sticking out of the base. He also had a cane with him with a large round purple orb on the top. The man gave a friendly smile on his mustached face.

"Enchanté." The man said smoothly as snapped his fingers and Sora magically was lifted up onto his feet and the mud completely disappeared. The man removed his hat, revealing a head full of matted and curled black hair, "A tip of the hat, from Dr. Facilier. How ya doin'?"

The man put his hat back on and then handed Sora a small white business card. It had a picture of a skull wearing Facilier's top hat on the right and the following written to the left: "Dr. Facilier: Tarot Readings, Charms, Potions, Dreams made real."

"Uh, hello." Sora said as the man slid around to his side, his arm around him, before leading him off down an apparently random street.

"If I were a bettin' man, and I'm not, I stay away from games of chance…unlike others I know…" Facilier said, glaring at a small pink fly on his collar who giggled, but Sora didn't notice, "…I'd wager I was in the company of a mighty warrior from among the stars."

"Wow, does everyone around here know who I am?" Sora asked as Facilier grinned and nodded.

"Why of course, son. You're in Magician's Bayou. A place of true and great magic." Facilier said. Sora looked over his shoulder behind him when he thought he heard Aqua's voice calling for him. Facilier snarled slightly before shoving him into a nearby alleyway. The alleyway led into an open area with a single dead tree in the center and a door with a sign over it. The sign was unreadable due to it being in the shade of the surrounding buildings.

"Step this way my friend, and I can show you magic like you've never seen before." Facilier said as Sora looked at him curiously.

"Really?" Sora asked.

"Oh definitely. It's a dangerous world out there for one as young as you." Facilier said as Sora smiled.

"Well I'm not totally defenseless." Sora said as Dr. Facilier grinned challengingly.

"Oh really? And what might this method of defense be?" Facilier asked as Sora reached out his hand, summoning his Keyblade. Facilier was impressed.

"Well would ya look at this. A Keyblade. My-oh-my it's been quite a while since I've seen one of these beauties. You mastered Command Styles yet?" Facilier asked as Sora shrugged.

"Almost. I've gotten all but my Tier Two Unique Command Style figured out." Sora replied.

"Uh-huh, and what about Shoot Locks?" Facilier asked as Sora looked thoughtful.

"Well…My master had started to teach me about those…but then we got sidetracked and I kinda blew up at her. I wonder if it's not too late to apologize." Sora said as Facilier shook his head.

"Mmm-Mmm-Mmm, not very likely. I foresee that your days of being trained by this woman are over. She won't take you back." Facilier said as Sora looked down in sadness, placing his hand on his chest.

"I…I dunno." Sora said ponderingly.

* * *

**Nearby…**

Aqua was running through the streets, searching for Sora high and low.

"Sora! SORA!" She called before stopping to catch her breath, doubled over with her hands on her knees. When she looked up she thought she saw Ven standing before her, pointing towards a nearby alleyway with a sense of urgency on his face.

"Ven?" She asked as Ven mysteriously vanished. She stood up and looked towards the alleyway curiously. She then saw a single puff of smoke appear in front of her, revealing Shantotto.

"I see your search has yet to fail. I suggest you find him quickly, for this is the Voodoo District in which we now hail." Shantotto said as Aqua looked around. Sure enough, many of the buildings had a number of odd items dangling from the overhangs of their roofs that were clearly Voodoo oriented.

"Voodoo?" Aqua asked as Shantotto nodded.

"Voodoo, a powerful magic it may be, comes at a very great cost to the user and sometimes to thee. Depending on one's intentions the outcome is different. When used for good, your fate is irreverent. When voodoo is used for evil and villainy, one wrong move or broken talisman can doom one's soul to anonymity." Shantotto explained.

"So you're saying, that if you use voodoo for evil, that the practitioner puts themselves at risk as well as anyone they use it on?" Aqua asked as Shantotto nodded.

"Okay then. Anyone in particular I need to watch out for?" Aqua asked as Shantotto nodded again.

"A skilled practitioner lives down the way. A thieving charlatan named Doctor Facilier. He is a criminal and a crook. One of his victims was transformed into a fairy tale book!" Shantotto said as Aqua turned towards the alleyway.

"Where does he live?" Aqua asked as Shantotto turned to face the alleyway as well.

"He lives through there, in a hole in the wall. Be careful, once he makes a deal, the stakes become tall." Shantotto said as Aqua's heart started racing. She could tell that Sora was in there and she quickly summoned her Keyblade before giving chase. Praying that she wasn't too late…

* * *

**End Chapter 18.**

**A/N: **A quick note regarding the Shoot Locks. There are numerous Shoot locks listed on the Birth By Sleep Wiki page. But for the sake of saving time and space, I'm only reducing the Shoot Locks down to three per Keyblade Wielder.

Also, Magician's Bayou is my world. I made it up, though it is partially based on New Orleans from Disney's "Princess and the Frog."


	19. Smiling Sentiment

"I…I dunno." Sora said as Facilier's smile shrank slightly.

"You dunno? You don't believe me?" Facilier asked as Sora scratched the back of his head.

"Um, no offence but…not really." Sora said with an innocent shrug. There was something in his heart that was telling him that he was not what he seemed to be. Facilier's smile completely vanished, replaced by a frown. (Music Cue: "Friends on the Other Side" from Disney's "Princess and the Frog")

_"Don't you disrespect me little man._  
_Don't you derogate or deride!_

Facilier sang, shaking his finger at Sora before aiming his cane at the sign on the wall which read "Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Emporium"…

_"You're in my world now, not your world,_  
_and I got friends on the other side."_

Facilier sang as the front door started to swing open and a group of source less voices added…

_"He's got friends on the other si-de."_

Facilier then put his arm back around Sora, leading him inside.

"That's an echo son, just a little something we have here in the Bayou. A little parlor trick, don't worry." Facilier said as he snapped his fingers and a light clicked on, revealing a covered table with two chairs inside an alcove surrounded by elegant curtains. Facilier then started singing…

_"Sit down at my table; put your mind at ease._  
_If you relax it will enable me to do anything I please._  
_I can read your future; I can change it 'round some, too."_

Sora sat down at one of the chairs as Facilier danced around and up next to Sora, singing…

_"I look deep into your heart and soul…"_

"You do have a soul, don't you son?" Facilier asked Sora before hopping onto the table and singing…

_"Make your wildest dreams come true!_  
_I got Voodoo, I got hoodoo, I got things I ain't even tried!_  
_And I got friends on the other side."_

Then a group of overhead voodoo masks sang in unison as Facilier pulled out a deck of tarot cards and sat down opposite Sora…

_"He's got friends on the other side!"_

Then Facilier started shuffling the deck as he sang…

_"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell,_  
_the past, the present, and the future as well."_

He sang as he held the cards face down like a fan, holding them out to Sora before singing…

_"The cards, the cards, just take three,_  
_take a little trip into your future with me!"_

Sora shrugged and took three cards. Facilier magically made the others disappear before laying out Sora's three cards face up on the table. Facilier picked up the first card which had an image of the Destiny Islands on it.

_"Now you young man, are from across the sea…"_

He sang as he waved his hand over it, making it change to a picture of Kairi with the image of a white heart over her chest with a crown over both her head and over the heart…

_"You got a gal whose heart's of royalty…"_

"I'm a royal myself on my mother's side." Facilier said with a chuckle before flipping the card upside down, changing it to an image of Sora standing triumphantly atop of what appeared to be Kingdom Hearts…

_"Your hopes were high!_  
_But now they're low,_  
_and you've found a little honey that can go toe to toe."_

Facilier sang as he flipped the card upside down again, making it look like Sora was being held down by Aqua as he tried to reach Kingdom Hearts…

"Wanted to go off on your own, huh buddy boy? Now you've been hitched, but hitching ties you down. You just wanna be free, fly from place to place, but freedom, takes dreams..." Facilier said with a grin before he turned the card around in a full circle, revealing Sora standing in his armor, standing over Xehanort's seemingly dead body as Facilier sang…

_"It's the dream, it's the dream, it's the dream you need!_  
_And when I looked into the future it's the dream that I see."_

He then put the card down and picked up the second, holding it facing himself as he sang…

_"You poor little man I don't want wanna waste more time._  
_You've been pushed around all your life!"_

Facilier sang as he flipped the card around, revealing Sora with Riku, Aqua, and another, obviously older woman each standing on his back as Facilier sang…

_"You've been pushed around by your mother,_  
_and your brother and now your master._  
_And if you was datin'…"_

Sora perked up when he heard reference to Kairi _until_ Facilier flipped the card upside down, revealing Kairi standing on top of him.

_"…you'd be pushed around by your gal._  
_But in your future, the you I see..."_

Facilier sang as he put down the card and reached for the third, picking up and showing Sora standing triumphantly on top of Kingdom Hearts again as Facilier sang…

_"...is exactly the man you always wanted to be."_

Facilier then put down the card before sliding around to Sora's side, extending his hand.

"Shake my hand." Facilier said, but Sora hesitated, "Come on boy, won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?"

Sora extended his hand and was about to grab hold of it when the door burst open, revealing Aqua with her Keyblade. She immediately realized what was about to happen.

"Sora! NO!" Aqua exclaimed, eyes widened in fear, but Facilier grinned and quickly grabbed hold of Sora's hand and firmly shook it, causing a purple glow to appear around the two of them, and a large swirling green wall of energy to appear between them and Aqua.

_"Yes... Are you ready?"_

Facilier sang with a grin as Sora was magically bound in a chair by the arms and a chorus of Voodoo Masks sang…

_"Are you ready?"_

Aqua tried to break through the barrier with her Keyblade but to no avail. Then a giant demonic looking voodoo mask with two downward curved horns, an elongated face, razor sharp teeth, and glowing green eyes appeared against the back wall, opening its mouth to reveal a swirling green vortex within as Facilier sang…

_"Are you ready?_  
_Transformation Central!"_

Facilier sang as the masks replied…

_"Transformation Central!"_

Facilier then grabbed a small voodoo talisman shaped like a small mask, and pulled its mouth open before pressing it against Sora's chest.

_"Reformation Central!"_

Facilier sang as the talisman started to glow, as Sora attempted to escape but to no avail as the masks replied…

_"Reformation Central!"_

Aqua was helpless as she watched Sora become enveloped by a glowing purple aura emanating from the talisman. Suddenly a glowing pink heart with half of a heart wedged into it burst free from the talisman's mouth. Sora's body simply slumped over in a stupor as Facilier sang…

_"Transmogrification Central! Can you feel it?"_

Facilier then grabbed the talisman as the pink fly on his collar cackled and magically turned into Madam Mim who picked up Sora's unconscious body. As Facilier raised the talisman to the floating hearts, he sang…

_"You're changing, you're changing, you're changing alright!"_

Then he turned to Aqua who snarled at him angrily as he sang with a grin…

_"I hope you're satisfied._  
_But, if you ain't, don't blame me._  
_You can blame my friends on the other side!"_

Facilier sang with a cackle. Mim joined him as they opened a Corridor of Darkness, Aqua still unable to reach them as the talisman quickly ensnared the hearts and pulled them into its mouth before snapping shut and the two passed through the Corridor as the masks sang…

_"You got what you wanted!_  
_But you lost what you had!"_

Then the magic barrier, Voodoo masks, and Corridor of Darkness all vanished as the masks final word echoed as a whisper through the room…

_"Hush."_

Aqua was now alone inside the room. She dropped to her knees, her Keyblade suddenly started glowing with an increasingly brighter light as she clinched her open hand into a fist before throwing her head back in an anguished scream, her Keyblade sending out a shockwave which shook the room and knocked several things over. She slumped forward, lowering her head in grief. She then saw something sparkle out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and saw a twinkling object in the shadows. She climbed back up onto her feet and slowly approached the source of the light. She pushed over the table, and saw what it was, her mouth dropping open slightly in silence. It was Sora's armor piece that he usually wore on his shoulder.

"Sora. I should have been honest with you. I am so sorry." She whispered as she picked up the piece and held it close to her heart. Suddenly she felt a surge of energy coming from the armor piece, causing her to drop it with a yelp of surprise. She watched as the armor piece started bouncing around like mad, a glow gradually starting to appear around it before a sudden burst of light appeared, briefly blinding Aqua. When she finally opened her eyes she was stunned at what she saw.

"S-S-Sora?" Aqua asked. His armor had manifested, kneeling down on one knee with his Keyblade driven into the ground and his hands resting on the top of the hilt like Terra's Lingering Sentiment back in Disney Castle.

"_Aqua…"_ A voice sounding like the metallic tone the Lingering Sentiment had only noticeably lighter in pitch said.

"Sora…what's happened to you?" Aqua asked as the armor stood up and grabbed the Keyblade from the ground.

"_Deceived…Sorry."_ Sora's armor said in its metallic tones with its head lowered sadly. Aqua was stunned speechless.

"Well now this is quite a development. It seems your apprentice has become a Sentiment." Shantotto said as she walked in.

"What do you know about this Professor?" Aqua asked.

"A Sentiment, the will and memories of one, that a Keyblade they once did bear. They rise to fight in place of their fallen body and heart, so its enemies need beware." Shantotto said as Aqua scratched her head.

"But Sora lost his heart and body to those two villains. Shouldn't he have become a Heartless?" Aqua asked as Shantotto laughed heartily.

"Voodoo, a mysterious art and way, has many peculiar rules that can either make or ruin your day. Preserved his heart and body may be, but lost forever if we don't get both back quickly." Shantotto said as Aqua looked at Sora's Sentiment who remained silent, making Aqua a bit nervous.

"So it's the voodoo that keeps him from becoming a heartless. Do you know how we can reverse the spell placed on Sora?" Aqua asked as Shantotto crossed her arms.

"All knowing, I am not. But not helping would make my heart rot. Know a master of Voodoo quite well I do. She lives up in a tree, deeper into the bayou. Help you I shall or else your grade is a D. The Voodoo master's name is Mama Odie." Shantotto said as Aqua smiled with relief.

"Thank you Professor. I'm glad you're willing to help me clean up this mess that I made." Aqua said as Shantotto hopped onto the back of Sora's Sentiment, which didn't seem to mind or care as both it and Aqua set out.

**…**

They had traveled deep into the swampy bog of the bayou, walking through a thick fog that blinded their view. Sora's Sentiment had taken point, Shantotto still on its back, and Aqua followed up from behind.

"I really screwed up this time. Master Eraqus never screwed up as bad as I did." Aqua sighed to herself.

"A loser you are, yet so irreverent. Your beloved master was also a loser, which was plenty evident. Knew him I did, and he was quite the charmer, but he was a bungler and another loser, yet my heart grew fonder. Love him I try but before our time was through, he certainly made bigger blunders than you." Shantotto said, earning a surprised and annoyed look from Aqua.

"Don't talk about Master Eraqus like that! He was the best master that ever existed! He was better than you even!" Aqua said angrily as Shantotto gave her a challenging smirk with one hand on her hip, twisting her body around slightly to look at her.

"I dare you to try, but the outcome will only make you cry." Shantotto said challengingly. Aqua was tempted to summon her Keyblade and attack the tiny wizard immediately but she resisted. They then noticed that Sora's Sentiment had stopped in its tracks. Aqua and Shantotto noticed this and looked at the armored spirit curiously.

"What is it?" Aqua asked as Shantotto looked ahead and then laughed heartily.

"It seems our good luck has survived, for behold we have now arrived." Shantotto said, pointing upwards slightly, revealing a tall tree with an old houseboat stuck up near the top, with light emanating from inside, showing that someone was home. Shantotto hopped off the back and hurried to the base of the tree, Sora's Sentiment walking behind. Aqua walked up to the empty yet animated armor and looked down at it curiously.

"Sora…can you hear me in there?" Aqua asked. No response.

"Well, regardless if you can or not, I'm going to get you out of this mess one way or another." Aqua said as she started to walk ahead. She then felt a cold firm, hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Sora's Sentiment had its hand on her shoulder and was looking up at her. For a brief moment she could swear she saw a smile on its faceless helmet. Aqua smiled back in relief, before turning back to towards the tree house. Soon they had climbed up the tree, and were being greeted by a kindly and friendly voice.

"Oh I know who's there! Is that you Shanty deary? Oh I can tell it's you, 'cause you got that ragin' Cajun aura about you." The woman's voice echoed from inside. Shantotto smirked and silently motioned for the two to go inside.

"Oh did you bring guests? Oh Mama's gonna have to see what we have here." The woman asked as she stepped into the light. She was a short, dark skinned, heavyset old woman with a very wrinkly and baggy skinned chin. She wore a large white towel like turban on her head (A/N: I don't know what it's called, so don't flame for that), a large white frock, two oversized golden ring shaped earrings, a pair of dark sunglasses, and no shoes. In her hand was a gourd that was glowing with yellow energy from the larger end.

"Hmm, now what have we here?" Mama Odie asked herself as she "looked" Aqua and Sora's Sentiment over.

"Um, hello miss Odie, I'm Aqua, and this is Sora…err rather his armor, see we've got a bit of a problem and-." Aqua said but was interrupted.

"Girl, you talk too much. Now come on in and have a seat. Oh and don't call me miss, sounds so old and so formal. You just call me Mama Odie, that alright deary?" Mama Odie said as she led them into her home. It was generally a somewhat cozy home. An old bathtub sat atop a stove, with a bubbling brown liquid inside. Along a whole wall were jars upon jars of various and odd looking items. Mama Odie proceeded to hobble over to a chair at the end of the room without incident and sit down.

"Now then, let's talk about what your problem is now okay?" Mama Odie said as Aqua sat down on an empty crate while Sora's Sentiment simply stood.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Mim and Facilier were laughing with sinister glee. Sora's unconscious and spiritless body lay covered and bound on a wooden wagon as Facilier clutched the talisman in his hands.

"Oh the boss is just going to reward us handsomely for bringin' down that no good Keyblade boy. All that's left is to take care of the girl and we're on easy street." Facilier said as Mim laughed with a snort.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho yes! I love this part of the game! We're going to win this time for sure! HE-HE! We'll win! We'll win!" Mim celebrated as she danced around nearly knocking the talisman from Facilier's hands.

"Will you watch it! If this thing breaks, the spirits that made this thing will have my heart for dinner! And I'm more afraid of them than I am of Xehanort!" Facilier freaked, clutching the talisman close to him.

"Not afraid of Xehanort are we?" A voice echoed as a Corridor of Darkness opened up nearby. From it emerged Emperor Mateus, followed closely by Judge Gabranth.

"Oh well if it isn't his royal highness. Come down from your almighty throne to fraternize with us meager worms?" Facilier mocked with a smile. Mateus scowled at the witchdoctor.

"Lowly worm. You do not yet understand that you are merely a pawn to be used by Xehanort in his bid for power." Mateus said, catching the witchdoctor's attention.

"Oh? You sound like a dissatisfied customer Mateus. Why don't you pick a card and let the cards tell me why." Facilier said as Mateus snarled and glanced at Gabranth who grabbed the whole deck of cards and tossed them into the air before taking one quick swing with his double bladed sword and quick as a flash cut the whole deck in half through the center, and I don't mean cut as in dealing terms.

"I mean, you mindless pawn, that Xehanort is unfit to lead us, the true warriors of Darkness. He may possess a younger body but that body's original owner still maintains a degree of control. That will not do. If we were able to sway Maleficent to our side, then perhaps we could stand a chance of removing Xehanort from power. Power is all that keeps him in command. Prove that he is not stronger than us, and his power goes away. Well? What do you say." Mateus said as Facilier pondered.

"Ooh-ho-ho-ho (snort), I like this game! I'll play! I'll play!" Mim said excitedly.

"You've got yourself a deal, your highness." Facilier said with a smile, extending his hand but the despot glared at him, knowing better than to shake hands with the witchdoctor.

* * *

**End Chapter 19.**

The Song above was a slightly altered version of "Friends on the other side" from Disney's "Princess and the Frog." I included this song because A) It works with the story and B) Because Keith David (the voice of Dr. Facilier) is awesome. (Keith David is also the voice of the Arbiter in Halo, Chaos in Final Fantasy Dissidia, and Goliath from Gargoyles, to name a few.)

For the record, if I happen to offend anyone of the African-American persuasion with Facilier and Odie's portrayal in these chapters, then please accept my apologies as this was not the intention. Thank you.


	20. On The Mend

Aqua had just finished telling Mama Odie of the current situation. Sora's Sentiment simply stood off to the side, not really seeming to pay attention.

"My-my-my. You got yourself into a whole heap-a-trouble. But now I'd like to hear it in the tin man's words." Mama Odie said, hopping up from her chair and approaching Sora's Sentiment.

"But Mama Odie, he has hardly said more than two words since manifesting like that." Aqua said as Mama Odie laughed.

"You just sit down now and let Mama do the talkin'." Mama Odie said to Aqua as she put her arm around the Sentiment and listened closely. A long metallic tone was heard from inside of it, but Aqua couldn't make out what it said.

"Mmm-Mmm-Mmm. That's terrible." Mama Odie said shaking her head.

"I know." Aqua sighed.

"You bet it is, my gumbo's burnin'!" Mama Odie yelped as she hurried to the bathtub and turned down the heat underneath it. She then turned back to Aqua.

"But really now, I can help you all out with your problems." Mama Odie said as Aqua perked up.

"You mean you can bring Sora's heart and body back?" Aqua asked as Mama Odie paused and gave her a "look" with an arched eyebrow.

"What? I never said that! I said I can help, I never said I could bring him back." Mama Odie said, confusing Aqua. Sora's Sentiment "looked" at the voodoo priestess as well.

"Then how do we bring him back?" Aqua asked as Mama Odie gave her a dismissive wave.

"Oh that's easy. Just break that talisman his heart's trapped in and his heart will return to his body. It's that easy. What I'm talkin' about is you 'n' Sora's problem gettin' along." Mama Odie said as Aqua took a heavy sigh.

"I really screwed up. I didn't tell Sora the truth about Xehanort and Ter-." "Girl, I know what the problem is. Otherwise I wouldn't be helpin' you all now would I?" Mama Odie interrupted.

"So what do we do? Can Sora even hear us the way he is right now?" Aqua asked as Mama Odie turned towards Sora's Sentiment. The Sentiment leapt to its feet and pointed to its "ears," nodding.

"Oh good. So you're really going to help us with that?" Aqua asked as Mama Odie laughed and nodded. Suddenly a bunch of swampland creatures started gathering around. (Music Cue: "Dig A Little Deeper" from Disney's the Princess and the Frog)

"Girl, I help people like you all the time! Rich folk, poor folk, healthy people, sick people, animals of all kinds, I help 'em all! And you are no different. Let me tell ya…" Mama Odie said before she started to sing.

_"Don't matter what you look like,_  
_don't matter what you wear._  
_How many rings you got on your finger,_  
_we don't care, no-_  
_(Plus animals) -We don't care!"_

_"Don't matter where you come from,_  
_don't even matter what you are!_  
_A dog, a pig, a cow, a goat;_  
_we got em' all in here!"_

Then the animals replied…

_"We got em' all in here!"_

Then Odie started singing again…

_"If they all knew what they wanted,_  
_what they wanted, need to do._  
_I told them what they needed,_  
_just like I be telling you!"_

Then she and the animals started singing…

_"You gotta dig a little deeper!"_

Then Odie sang…

_"Find out who you are!_  
_(Plus animals) You gotta dig a little deeper!"_

Then Odie started dancing over towards Sora's Sentiment as she sang…

_"It really ain't that far!_  
_When you find out who you are,_  
_you find out what you need."_

Then she and the animals sang…

_"Blue skies and sun shine; guaranteed!_  
_You gotta dig!_  
_(Animals: Dig)_  
_You gotta dig!_  
_(Animals: Dig)"_

Then Odie turned to Sora's Sentiment as she sang…

_"Now Sora is a brave little boy,_  
_but 'cha wanna be alone again?_  
_That ain't gonna make you happy now._  
_Did it make you happy then? NO!"_

Then she and the animals sang in unison…

_"Lonely ain't got no soul!_  
_Lonely ain't got no heart!"_

Then she sang, putting her arms around both Aqua and the Sentiment…

_"All you need is some faith 'n' trust._  
_So make yourselves a brand new start!"_

Then she and the animals sang…

_"You gotta dig a little deeper!"_

Then Odie added…

_"Don't have far to go!"_

And the animals replied…

_"You gotta dig a little deeper!"_

As Odie sang…

_"Tell the people Mama told you so!_  
_Can't tell you what you'll find,_  
_maybe love or grant you a piece of mind._  
_Dig a little deeper and you'll know!"_

"Miss Aqua, might I have a word? Heh-heh-heh, you's a hard one, that's what I heard." Odie said as she pulled Aqua aside towards the gumbo filled bathtub. With a wave of her hand, a glowing image of Aqua, Ven, and Terra appeared within the tub as Odie sang…

_"Your friends was some lovin' men;_  
_you were family through and through."_

She then turned Aqua towards Sora's Sentiment before singing…

_"Sora's got your friend's heart now!_  
_What he has in him, you got in you!"_

Odie said, poking at Aqua's heart before singing with the animals…

_"You gotta dig a little deeper!"_

Odie then added…

_"For you, it's gonna be tough."_

And the animals sang…

_"You gotta dig a little deeper!"_

Then Odie sang…

_"You ain't dug this far enough!_  
_Dig down deep inside yourself,_  
_you'll found out what you need."_

Odie sang before she and the animals sang in unison…

_"Blue skies and sunshine; guaranteed!"_

"Open up the window! Let in the light deary!" Odie shouted as she shoved Aqua towards and into Sora's Sentiment as the animals sang…

_"Blue skies and sunshine!_  
_Blue skies and sunshine!"_

Then Aqua gripped a hold of the Sentiment's hand which gripped back as she sang with a smile…

_"Blue skies and sunshine...!"_

Then Odie finished…

_"...Guaran- te-ed!"_

(End Music)

"So…ya think you can work together again?" Mama Odie asked with her hands on her hips with a smile. Aqua was still holding the Sentiment's hand as she smiled at it then nodded.

"Definitely." Aqua said as Mama Odie smiled again.

"Oh if that ain't just precious. Warms my heart to see things workin' out the way they's supposed to be. But ya better hurry. Facilier and Mim is waitin' in the graveyards for Xehanort to arrive to collect Sora's heart and body. If you don't stop them in time, you're gonna have problems. Shanty deary will show you the way." Mama Odie said as Aqua nodded understandingly and determinedly.

"I understand. Come on Sora let's move!" Aqua said as the Sentiment turned around and lunged out the door, Shantotto leaping onto its back without it stopping.

"Good luck dearies! Now you all be sure to come back and see Mama anytime you want, now ya hear?" Mama Odie called as the three disappeared into the fog of the bayou.

* * *

**In the Graveyards…**

Facilier and Madam Mim were still waiting with Mateus and Gabranth.

"Once we have Maleficent on our side, we will be unstoppable." Mateus said as Mim laughed with a snort.

"Oh I can't wait!" She giggled with glee.

"But what about that guy with the long hair and the even longer sword? Every time I did a readin' on him I drew the heartless, the eternal darkness, and the evil cards every time." Facilier said with a worried look. (A/N: I know nothing about voodoo and tarot cards so don't flame if you do).

"Sephiroth has no interest in our plans. He is content to stand on the sidelines and watch." Mateus said as Gabranth approached him.

"With all due respect my liege, there is one thing that has taken Sephiroth's interest. A single warrior known as Cloud Strife. Perhaps we could find a way to use this warrior to convince Sephiroth to join our side, if only long enough to destroy Xehanort." Gabranth said as Mateus pondered.

"Hmm…Strife." Mateus said mid-thought. He had heard that name before and he then realized from where. His lips curled into a sinister smile as a plan formulated in his evil mind.

"We can certainly use that lowly worm to our advantage. All we need to do is inform Sephiroth where he is." Mateus said as Facilier grinned.

"You know exactly where the guy is, don't you?" Facilier asked as Mateus smiled in pride.

"He is currently my…"guest" in a world under my domain along with a few others who have attempted to challenge my rule. They are of no threat to me anymore despite the fact I allow them to live." Mateus said. Just then Gabranth spotted something.

"My liege! Intruders!" Gabranth said, pointing towards the entrance to the graveyard where Aqua, Sora's Sentiment, and Shantotto had arrived.

"Stand down, judge. I want to see how this plays out." Mateus said with a stoic and curious expression. Shantotto hopped down from the Sentiment's back before the three of them approached slowly. Aqua was in the center, Sora's Sentiment to her left, and Shantotto to her right. Their Keyblades and staff were drawn and they were ready for battle. Mateus walked up to the middle of the road with Gabranth to his right, Facilier to his left, and Mim hanging back with Sora's body.

"Greetings pawns of the light. We have been expecting your arrival." Mateus said stoically.

"We're here for my apprentice's heart and body. You can either stand aside, or we can bring you down." Aqua said as Mateus chuckled slightly.

"Come-come now. I am not unreasonable. We share a common goal, the defeat of Xehanort. I merely ask for your assistance in this matter since it is only logical that you, two warriors of the light, would seek do so." Mateus said as Aqua narrowed her eyes at the Emperor.

"Who are you and what is your part in all of this?" Aqua asked as Mateus smiled darkly.

"I am Emperor Mateus and at present I act as one of Xehanort's Pawns. I wonder, do you hope to defeat Xehanort on your own? Your apprentice is strong, yes, but he will not become a master in time to thwart Xehanort's plans." Mateus explained.

"What are his plans?" Aqua asked.

"He seeks to lay claim to Kingdom Hearts through unknown means. He has never revealed to us the method through which he intends to claim its power to us. If he succeeds, then his reign will be absolute and I know that you do not wish for that to happen. Therefore, I extend to you this offer of allegiance. Join me, and together we can stop Xehanort's plans forever." Mateus said, earning a dark glare from Aqua.

"If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's a double-crosser regardless of what side they're on." Aqua said earning a curious frown from Mateus.

"You misunderstand me. I seek to preserve the worlds, not destroy them like Xehanort undoubtedly intends to do. Please reconsider." Mateus said as Aqua aimed her Keyblade at him.

"Forget it! I'm not helping you kill Xehanort." Aqua said as Mateus gave shrug.

"A pity. Doctor, I shall leave them to you and your witchcraft." Mateus said as he and Gabranth disappeared in a single Corridor of Darkness. Facilier and Mim both grinned at the three warriors.

"Well now. Ain't this just a kick in the head. I didn't realize that I'd end up fighting a true Keyblade Master and the ghost of her apprentice." Facilier said with a grin.

"Oh and don't forget that tasty little morsel!" Mim laughed, pointing to Shantotto who gave another one of her hearty laughs.

"Aren't you a prideful one with hair on your chest? You challenge me to a duel, a blood fest?" Shantotto asked mockingly as Mim smiled.

"You're on Shorty!" Mim giggled gleefully with a snort. Shantotto smiled challengingly.

"Are you sure you can handle her Professor? I hear Mim isn't one to be trifled with." Aqua said as Shantotto smiled up at her.

"Defeating this total loser won't be an issue. For if I lose, a pig will fly up and kiss you." Shantotto said as she and Mim started walking off to another area of the graveyard to fight.

"But it's been years since you last fought." Aqua said as Shantotto stopped before turning towards the Keyblade Master.

"It may have been far too long since the last war I won. But I can tell you right now, it will be fun." Shantotto said with a dark smile before turning and continued to follow Mim. Aqua then turned to Facilier who grinned sinisterly.

"What are you grinning about shadow man, you're outnumbered two to one!" Aqua said as Facilier chuckled.

"That may be so, but you see, I don't need a partner, I've got a helping hand." Facilier said as he raised the talisman, causing him to glow with an evil dark aura and a white skull visage to appear over his face as if it was face paint. His eyes turned black with small purple spots for pupils inside. His clothes became more vibrant shades of purple too. Aqua snarled in anger and she was about to charge forward and attack but suddenly felt Sora's Sentiment grip her shoulder as it vaulted forward with its Keyblade summoned.

"_FACILIER!"_ Sora's Sentiment echoed angrily in its metallic tones before it swung down at the witchdoctor who raised his cane as if parrying. Much to Aqua's surprise, the cane resisted flawlessly against the force of the blow.

"Did you really think you could beat me like THIS?" Facilier asked as he shoved Sora's Sentiment back.

"Sora!" Aqua exclaimed as the armor landed in a skid on its feet next to her.

"I've got the power of a person's heart in the palm of my hand! Not to mention the fact, that this person is also a Keyblade Warrior! Don't even think that I'm not going to use it to my advantage!" Facilier shouted with a laugh as his powers flared again.

"Well what are you two lookin' at? Are YOU **READY?**" Facilier asked with a laugh as Aqua snarled angrily again.

This battle had just gotten personal.

* * *

**End Chapter 20.**

The Song above was a slightly altered version of "Dig A Little Deeper" from Disney's "The Princess and the Frog."


	21. Hush

Aqua and Sora's Sentiment were staring down the witchdoctor as he channeled energy from Sora and Ven's heart into his own power. The Sentiment and Aqua were about to charge when he leapt back and raised his cane with a villainous laugh before stabbing it into the ground, summoning a number of Heartless shaped like human sized Voodoo dolls.

"My friends on the other side are here to play! You think you can entertain them?" Facilier laughed as he stood atop a mausoleum, watching the battle. Aqua and Sora's Sentiment were cutting through the heartless as fast as they could but more kept on coming. Aqua then leapt back a bit, using reflega to block the attack from one of the heartless. The resulting burst of light obliterated a large swath of them but they still kept coming. She then started using random magic attacks, cutting down large numbers of Heartless until finally she felt the surge of energy in her heart and she unleashed the Magic Wish Command Style, laying waste to the Heartless even faster. She kept glancing at Sora's Sentiment, waiting for it to do something more than just attack with the Keyblade.

They all paused for a moment when they saw a large pink hippo fly overhead and crash somewhere else in the graveyard. They waited a moment before they saw Shantotto fly past overhead after the hippo, laughing as she flew. They then all looked at each other and shrugged before the battle resumed.

"_Why won't he use a Command Style? Surely he can…wait, no he can't! Not without a heart!"_ Aqua said mentally as she looked at Facilier who still clutched the talisman in his hand.

"Sora! You deal with him! I'll deal with these guys!" Aqua said as the Sentiment nodded. Aqua dropped down to one knee as the Sentiment charged towards her from behind and used her back as a jumping point to leap over the heartless. His jump carried him over the heartless and over Facilier to the opposite end of the mausoleum Facilier was standing on.

"That ain't gonna help ya boy." Facilier said with a grin as he aimed the orb on his cane at the Sentiment, firing a Thundaga blast. The Sentiment dodge rolled out of the way before coming back around with a vicious swing, nearly knocking Facilier off balance as he blocked. Facilier grinned and leapt backwards, over the edge of the mausoleum itself and landed on the ground. It then tapped his cane into the ground, causing a large floating shrunken head shaped Heartless to appear in the air overhead. Facilier leapt up and landed on the top of it, laughing maniacally. The Sentiment attempted to leap at it with a swing of its Keyblade but it fell short and landed behind Aqua. Facilier laughed tauntingly at the Sentiment's failure.

They all paused again for a moment when they saw a large pink elephant fly overhead and crash somewhere else in the graveyard. They waited a moment before they saw Shantotto fly past overhead after the elephant, laughing again as she flew. They then all looked at each other and shrugged again before the battle resumed once more.

"_We've got to get that talisman away from him!"_ Aqua said mentally. Sora's Sentiment quickly joined her in battling the Heartless as she used Blade Charge to cut them down in piles.

"Switch with me!" Aqua said as Blade Charge finally wore out and she back flipped over Sora's Sentiment which quickly started battling the Heartless in her place. She then aimed her Keyblade at Facilier who looked down at her curiously. She then used Rainbow Shower, firing off a wave of rainbow colored magic bolts at the witchdoctor who quickly caused the giant shrunken head Heartless to veer out of the way, causing the bolts to miss their mark and fly harmlessly past. Aqua fired off another wave but Facilier dodged again. Yet another wave. Dodged.

"You're pathetic powers are no match for mine! Give into defeat! It's time to end this!" Facilier said as the shrunken head opened its mouth, causing a long green whip like tongue to launch out from the head's mouth and fly directly at Aqua. She quickly swung at it but it dodged and quickly wrapped around her. She struggled to break free but the tongue simply constricted her. The shrunken head started slowly raising her upwards towards it as Facilier let out a maniacal laugh.

"You see little lady, I made a deal before ya'll arrived. The deal is that in exchange for unlimited power, the spirits would get your heart and the heart of your Apprentice. Problem is, I have to have both at once to seal the deal. Well little lady, this heartless will deal with freeing your heart from your body and from there, I can take it and gain unlimited power!" Facilier laughed as Aqua continued being slowly pulled up by the giant heartless. Aqua looked down and saw that Sora's Sentiment was still fighting the Heartless.

"SORA! HELP!" Aqua called down to the Sentiment who glanced up before looking back down at the Heartless. He then quickly leapt over them with one mighty leap, catching the tooth of the Keyblade on the roof of the mausoleum. He then swung back and upwards onto the roof before turning towards the giant heartless.

"What'cha gonna do little man? You gonna knock me out of the sky?" Facilier asked mockingly.

They all paused yet again when they saw a large pink dragon fly overhead and crash somewhere else in the graveyard. They waited a moment before they saw Shantotto fly past overhead after the dragon, laughing once again as she flew. They then all looked at each other and shrugged yet again before the battle resumed.

Sora's Sentiment glared up at Facilier, aiming its Keyblade at the shrunken head. The Sentiment started glowing with white and black energy, reminiscent of the Nobodies, before it stepped back and leapt towards the head. It then raised the Keyblade horizontally across in front of it as the Keyblade glowed with a bright light. Behind it, a row of thirteen glowing spheres of light appeared before transforming into thirteen glowing Keyblade clones. All thirteen of the clones aimed themselves at the head as Facilier looked at them confused but Aqua was stunned.

"_He's doing it! It's a Shoot Lock!"_ She exclaimed in her mind. The Keyblades immediately streaked towards their target, moving so fast that Facilier couldn't dodge in time. The Keyblade clones pierced through the giant head, causing it to explode, releasing a large pink glowing heart as well as Aqua from its tongue. Aqua and Facilier both fell quickly but Sora's Sentiment quickly flew in and caught Aqua before she hit the ground. Facilier however landed in the sea of heartless beneath him, which cushioned his fall.

"Now then! Where were we-HOOAHH!" Facilier grunted as a nearly unconscious pink rhinoceros landed on top of him. Shantotto appeared atop the mausoleum nearby.

"What an inspiring bout." She said with a bored yawn and a stretch. Madam Mim then transformed back into her normal hag like form as Facilier picked himself up.

"It doesn't matter how many heartless you destroy! I'm invincible!" Facilier shouted with a dark smile, dangling the talisman by a black thread in his hands, before he started laughing.

"Oh? Is that fact set in stone? For as I see it, your hopes are all BLOWN!" Shantotto yelled as her staff started glowing and she quickly hurled it at Facilier with a spin. The staff cut the thread on the talisman, carrying it towards Aqua and Sora's Sentiment. Facilier gasped in horror as the Sentiment leapt forward and caught it before throwing it down at its armored boot, causing it to shatter in a flash of bright light.

"No! NO!" Facilier freaked as he dove for the pieces, picking them up in his hands in horror as the outlines of various voodoo symbols started scattering everywhere. Aqua, Shantotto, Sora's Sentiment, and even Madam Mim backed away from him. Aqua, the Sentiment, and Shantotto, taking cover behind a row of headstones as the Heartless all backed away.

"How am I ever gonna pay back my debt?" Facilier asked in a complete panic. He then froze, white as a sheet in terror as he heard what sounded like people singing…

_"Bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom…"_

Facilier turned around to face three nearby headstones where three floating voodoo masks with glowing purple eyes burst free from the headstones, floating towards Facilier slowly. They were the source of the singing. Facilier grinned innocently at them.

"Friends!" he said before the masks sang with evil grins…

_"Are you ready?"_

"No! I'm not ready at all! In fact, I've got lots more players." Facilier freaked, leaping to his feet as he started backing up in fear towards a large headstone where Mim was standing, who was watching in silent disbelief as Facilier tried to escape the spirits' wrath, but the spirits had no interest in excuses as they sang…

_"Are you ready?"_

"This is just a minor setback in a major operation-YIE!" Facilier yelped, jumping fearfully into Mim's arms as the voodoo doll heartless started crowding around them both while they still backed up towards the headstone.

"As soon as I work up another spell, we'll be back in business! I mean, I can still get those silly Keyblade kids' heart's locked away! I just need a little more time!" Facilier said as they backed into the headstone. In a flash of lightning, the headstone transformed into the giant demonic voodoo mask with the downward swept horns, razor sharp teeth, elongated face, and glowing green eyes. Facilier and Mim leapt back away in fear of the giant mask.

"No-no-please-no!" Facilier pleaded as he backed away in fear. Suddenly two ghostly hands, made of green mist, grabbed him by both legs and started dragging him towards the mask's open maw. Facilier cried out in fear as he tried to claw his way to freedom.

"JUST-A-LITTLE-MORE-TIME!" he pleaded. He then spotted Madam Mim and grabbed her by the ankles.

"HELP ME!" he pleaded as he started dragging Mim towards the mask along with him, the voodoo doll heartless and voodoo masks watching and continuing their haunting song.

"Let me go you fool!" Mim yelled, trying to kick herself free but it was no use.

"I promise to pay ya'll back! I PROMISE!" Facilier cried out one final time before the spirits dragged him and Mim both into the giant mask's maw before the smaller masks and voodoo doll heartless all were sucked into it after him. The mask slammed its mouth shut, creating a massive burst of blue and black smoke around it.

Aqua started to stand up from behind the headstones in stunned silence as the smoke started to clear and a whispering voice on the wind said…

_"Hush."_

And revealed the headstone now had busts of Facilier and Mim with expressions of absolute horror on their faces. Beneath their busts were their names. Shantotto gave a smug chuckle.

"Total losers." She said casually as she approached the two headstones.

"Looks like Hades is going to have some guests." Aqua said, still in shock. She then looked around and noticed that Sora's Sentiment had disappeared. She then saw it standing nearby, holding Sora's heart and the piece of Ven's heart wedged into Sora's, in its armored hands. It turned and started approaching Sora's covered, bound, and still unconscious body in a wagon nearby. The brown covering over Sora's body magically fell free and the ropes around his feet and wrists fell apart. The Sentiment then brought the heart and a half, closer to his body. In a bright flash of light the heart and the Sentiment completely vanished, the armor piece back on Sora's shoulder. Aqua hurried over to Sora as he let out a soft moan and started to stir.

"Sora? Sora, are you alright?" Aqua asked, holding him slightly, gently caressing his forehead.

"Aqua?" He asked weakly as he cracked open a pair of tired blue eyes. Aqua smiled at him with tears of joy.

"I'm here Sora. Everything's going to be alright now." Aqua said. Just then the flower and vines of a Curaga spell appeared over Sora's head. Aqua turned to see Shantotto nearby, sitting atop a headstone with her staff in hand.

"Aqua…I'm sorry." Sora said, still a little weak, as Aqua smiled sweetly.

"It's okay Sora. I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have told you from the beginning about Terra and Xehanort." Aqua said as Sora smiled and started to try and climb up onto his feet but his knees buckled from the sudden weight.

"Careful! You're not quite ready to walk yet. You've suffered quite a shock to your body, Sora. You need time to recover." Aqua said as she turned around and pulled him onto her back, holding him under the legs as he held on to her by the shoulders, resting his weight on her back. Shantotto hopped off the top of the headstone and planted her staff into the ground, causing a blue circle with various markings to appear on the ground beneath them before they both vanished in a flash of blue light.

* * *

**Back at Shantotto's manor…**

Sora was sitting on the couch with Aqua next to him. Shantotto was back in her chair and Merlin back in his.

"I suppose I better start from the beginning, huh Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded with a yawn.

"Tell me what happened, Aqua. How did Terra become Xehanort?" Sora asked as Aqua took a deep breath.

"Well, it all started with Terra's and my Master's Qualification Exam. Back then, Xehanort was an old Keyblade Master known as Master Xehanort, and he was an old classmate of Master Eraqus, mine and Terra's master. Master Xehanort was also Ven's original master before he split Ven's heart in two, separating the light from the darkness, creating two completely different beings without our knowing it. He called Ven's dark half Vanitas. Anyway, Xehanort tampered with the Exam course, making it seem like Terra had too much lingering darkness in his heart, thus causing him to fail the exam. Afterwards, Terra was sent to go find Master Xehanort and Vanitas, who he had taken as his apprentice. Vanitas tricked Ven into going off in search of Terra, and Master Eraqus sent me to find Ven and send him home, while simultaneously trying to keep Terra on the path of the light. At some point, Ven learned the truth about the fact his heart had been split in two and why. The reason was so that Ven and Vanitas could rejoin as one and create a particular Keyblade as a result. It was a Keyblade known as the X-Blade. This Keyblade was so powerful that it could open the door to Kingdom Hearts without needing the Seven Princesses of Heart." Aqua explained.

"The fiend! Using poor Ventus like that!" Merlin said in disgust as Sora nodded in agreement.

"So what happened next?" Sora asked.

"Ven went to seek advice from Master Eraqus about what to do since Ven was unaware that he was simply being used, and the master, realizing Xehanort's plot, decided he had to kill Ven to keep Xehanort from succeeding. Terra, having been completely tricked by Xehanort into becoming his pawn, arrived on the scene, and correctly assumed that the master was trying to kill Ven and intervened, injuring the master. Xehanort however dealt the final blow, killing Master Eraqus and plunging my homeworld into darkness. Terra realized then that he had been used. The three of us met up in the very world we fought his armor, the Keyblade Graveyard, along with King Mickey, who then was still just an apprentice to Master Yen Sid. Ven and Vanitas became one, creating the X-Blade which Vanitas, in Ven's body, used against the King and I in battle but we succeeded in defeating him but at the cost of Ven losing his heart. Terra in the meantime had gone to face Xehanort on his own, his anger and rage staining his heart with darkness and causing him to succumb to it. Xehanort, at that moment, freed his own heart and possessed Terra's body, creating the younger more agile Xehanort we both encountered in Radiant Garden a while ago. Terra's will and memories took root in his armor and became the Lingering Sentiment that we fought. I was knocked unconscious during the fight with Vanitas and learned a while later from the King and Yen Sid, that Terra had lost his heart. I went searching for his heart, having stashed Ven's body away in the ruins of our homeworld beforehand. I found Terra in Radiant Garden, only now he was known as Xehanort, and he attacked me. I defeated him and he started falling into darkness. I couldn't let Terra's body fall into darkness, because right when I defeated him, I sensed a faint glimmer of Terra's heart still inside his body, so I sacrificed my Keyblade and armor so that he might escape. I fell into darkness instead, and that's where our two paths finally met, Sora." Aqua said as Sora pondered.

"So…Terra didn't become Xehanort by choice, rather he's being possessed by Xehanort." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Now you know why I want to save him. I know we can save him. We just need to pull Xehanort's heart from Terra's body and allow Terra's heart to take back over. Problem is, I don't know how to do it." Aqua said with a sigh as she sat back on the couch. She then felt Sora put his hand atop of hers.

"We'll find a way Aqua. I know we will. Together, as Master, and Apprentice." Sora said as Aqua smiled at him.

"Oh, Sora." She said before quickly hugging him. Shantotto finally cleared her throat.

"If that is the end of this sappy discussion, can we move on before I get a concussion?" Shantotto asked as Aqua and Sora separated.

"Well, Sora do you remember using a Shoot Lock?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. I focused the power in my Keyblade on a single target, and released the energy once I felt it had built up enough." Sora explained as Aqua smiled and nodded.

"Congratulations, you have now officially learned how to use the Shoot Lock. We probably should go somewhere so you can get some more practice in. I know of a place, but I think we could use a break after all of this." Aqua said as Sora arched his eyebrow at her.

"A break? Are you serious? I'm eager to go find Terra and bring him back to his senses!" Sora exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Sora, you just reunited your heart with your body, you need time to recover your strength and energy." Aqua said as Sora rolled his right shoulder a bit.

"Now that you mention it, I am a little stiff. Maybe I could use some down time…and I know just where to go for it too." Sora said, earning a curious look from Aqua and Merlin.

"Where?" Aqua asked.

"Disney Castle. The King mentioned the Million Dreams Celebration, and Snow mentioned that Riku and Kairi were there. If we hurry, perhaps we can still get in on some of the fun!" Sora said as Aqua smiled and stood up with a nod.

"Alright then Sora, to Disney Castle it is." Aqua said as Merlin and Shantotto both stood up. Shantotto then laughed heartily again.

"Not bad for someone to handle such powerful magic. A little bit of work, and maybe your days as a total loser, won't be so tragic." Shantotto said.

"Ignore her; she's going to pay for her insults in time." Merlin said but Shantotto smirked and ignored his comment.

"Now don't forget all that you've learned, and on that note, class is adjourned." Shantotto said as she raised her staff and in an instant Sora and Aqua disappeared in a flash of light.

"What-what-what? Where did you send them Madam?" Merlin asked the tiny wizard who smirked up at him.

"To Disney Town I did send them, now to my insults I shall make more than an addendum." Shantotto said with a laugh. Soon afterwards, anyone passing by Shantotto's Mansion, would hear shouting and screaming as the two wizards dueled using their powerful magics, shaking the house and causing bursts of multicolored light to appear in random windows as they battled throughout the house.

* * *

**End Chapter 21.**


	22. Disney Town Part 1

**A/N: **As we are all aware, Birth by Sleep has been released in America (Does happy dance) however they did a little changing in terms of naming various moves and such. For example, Shoot Locks are called Shot Locks in America and Aqua's Command Style, Magic Wish is called Spell Weaver. For the sake of not confusing people, I'm not going to use the new names in this fic. Instead we shall continue using the original/Japanise names. That said, let's continue shall we?

* * *

Aqua and Sora appeared in a flash of light inside of an alleyway inside Disney Town. Sora looked around curiously as soon as they left the alley. The buildings were all sort of oddly shaped but they still were recognizable. (A/N: Think Toontown)

"Where are we?" Sora asked, having never been in the town section of the world before. Aqua however looked around and smiled.

"We're in Disney Town, Sora. The Professor must have magically teleported us here." Aqua said as she pointed towards the castle nearby.

"Oh, so we're outside the castle." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Yeah." Aqua replied.

"Hey! Maybe we should find Riku and Kairi." Sora said as Aqua rolled her shoulder.

"Lead the way." Aqua said with a yawn. Sora gave her a concerned look.

"You look tired, Aqua. Maybe you should go find somewhere to lie down for a while." Sora said as Aqua thought for a moment.

"Well…if there was a world to do it, it's this one. The Cornerstone of Light should keep any bad guys away so that'll give us plenty of time to relax. Tell Riku and Kairi that I said hello." Aqua said as she started off down the street. Sora watched her leave before turning to start his search. However it didn't take him long because almost as soon as Aqua had vanished, Sora spotted a flash of red hair along with a flash of white. Sora quickly hurried towards them and sure enough, there was Riku and Kairi walking down the street.

"RIKU! KAIRI!" Sora called with a wave, causing the two to stop in their tracks and turn towards him.

"SORA!" they exclaimed in unison as they each ran towards each other.

"Glad you could join the party, Sora. We were wondering whether or not you'd make it in time." Riku said with a smile and a friendly punch to Sora's arm.

"Riku wondered, but I knew you would make it." Kairi said. It was about this time that Sora noticed Kairi was wearing a black cap with fake Mickey Mouse ears on them, with her name engraved in gold stitching on it.

"Thanks guys. Kairi, where did you get the cap?" Sora asked curiously as Kairi smiled and Riku sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"They're selling them here in town. You want one?" Kairi asked as Sora shrugged.

"Sure." Almost instantly Kairi produced another cap from behind her back with Sora's name stitched into it.

"Great, you're a matching set now." Riku said semi-sarcastically as Sora donned his mouse ear cap.

"Don't you have one Riku?" Sora asked, earning a dark glare from Riku.

"Oh come on you lazy bum, put yours on." Kairi said as Riku groaned slightly and put a cap on his head. Almost instantly he took it off when he noticed Kairi pulling out her cell phone.

"AH! No cameras!" Riku said as Kairi frowned and Sora snickered.

"Oh come on party pooper, just one." Kairi begged with puppy dog eyes.

"No. You already got that picture of me getting mobbed by those Dalmatian puppies; you're not getting this one." Riku said as Sora clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Dalmatian puppies?" Sora snickered as Kairi showed him the picture on her cell phone. All you could see was Riku's head bursting free from a literal pile of ninety nine puppies. This made Sora burst out laughing. Riku crossed his arms over his chest and then realized someone was missing.

"Hey, where's your master, Sora?" Riku asked.

"Oh she's looking for somewhere to take a nap. She said she was kinda tired from having traveled for so long without a break." Sora explained as Riku nodded understandingly.

"Ah. I see." He said.

"But that means she's going to miss out on all the fun." Kairi said in disappointment.

"Hey, I'm here. Let's go have some fun of our own." Sora said as Kairi smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, come on guys. Let's go." Kairi said as they started walking off.

"I'm laying it down, here and now that I am NOT going on "It's a Small World" again!" Riku said as Kairi looked sad.

"Aww, please!" Kairi begged.

"You and Sora go right on ahead. With him here, I don't have to feel bad about you riding alone anymore." Riku said, crossing his arms.

"Oh come on Riku." Sora pleaded as Riku rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, you're not going to make this easy are you?" Riku asked.

"Not a bit." Sora said with a smirk and his arms crossed.

"Fine, I'll follow along. But I'm still not doing Small World again." Riku replied as Sora and Kairi laughed.

"Suit yourself." Sora said as they continued on. They were unaware that they were being watched by a familiar figure.

"Well-well-well, looks like the little spiky head is here too. I may just have to use these after all." Pete said as he looked down in his hand. He was holding two small pendants with the Nobody sigil on them and of two different numbers. Pete then ran off into the streets.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Aqua was still searching for a place to lie down, as she passed building after building.

"There's got to be somewhere to catch some Zs around here." Aqua said as she ran a hand over her face. She continued walking until she heard something.

"_Aqua…"_

A voice said. It sounded like the metallic tones of a Sentiment. She looked around and didn't see anything.

"Great, now I'm hallucinating." Aqua said as she continued on.

"_Aqua…"_

The voice said again. This time Aqua stopped in her tracks before turning around. She looked carefully and saw nothing. The street around her was empty and the shops were mostly closed for the celebration.

"Okay, there's definitely something going on around here." Aqua said. As she looked down the street, a sudden cloud of brown dust came surging down the street towards her. She shielded herself from the dust cloud as it blew past her. When it finally cleared, she opened her eyes and saw nothing. She turned around and again saw nothing but the dust cloud, drifting down the street.

"Maybe I need to follow it." Aqua said before giving chase to the dust cloud. She continued following it until she reached a large garden surrounded by a tall hedge wall. It was a large garden, cut in the shape of a giant Keyhole. As Aqua entered the garden she saw, much to her amazement, that there were statues situated around the curvature of the keyhole. They weren't just ordinary statues, they were statues of Ven, Terra, herself, King Mickey, and even Sora, Riku, and Kairi. In the center of the garden was a small, round stone bench. But one thing that stood out more than anything was a suit of familiar armor and Keyblade, kneeling before the statue of its former wearer. It was Terra's Lingering Sentiment again.

"Terra?" Aqua asked as she approached the armor. No response.

"Terra, is that you?" Aqua asked as she stopped behind the armor. Still no response. Aqua sighed and walked over to the bench and sat down. She sat on the bench in silence; the stone surprisingly, and comfortingly, warm to the touch. She felt herself getting sleepier with every passing second until she finally yawned.

"I shouldn't sleep right now, but I just can't keep my eyes open." Aqua said with a yawn as she slowly slumped over onto the warm stone bench, resting her head on her arm. She was asleep in seconds so she didn't notice Terra's Lingering Sentiment approach. It looked down at her in silence before suddenly jolting its head up as if it sensed something. A whirlwind of dust then appeared around it before it vanished.

* * *

**Back in town…**

Sora, Kairi, and a semi-reluctant Riku were still wandering through the town. Kairi stopped off to get in line at a nearby stall to purchase an ice cream bar while Sora and Riku sat off on a nearby bench, waiting for her to return.

"So how goes your training Sora?" Riku asked as Sora shrugged.

"It's going pretty good. I've learned all but one of my Command Styles, and I've only learned one of my Shoot Locks, but Aqua says that it shouldn't be too difficult to learn the others." Sora said as Riku gave him a blank stare.

"Command Styles? Shoot Locks? Geez Sora you're way ahead of me. I don't even know what those are." Riku said as Sora shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. Once Aqua finishes training me, then maybe she'll take you on as her apprentice next." Sora said as Riku smirked.

"Technically you would be a master too by that point, so you could take on your own apprentice. Somehow I get the feeling it won't be me." Riku chuckled as he glanced over his shoulder towards Kairi. He then turned back to Sora.

"Does Kairi know about your feelings towards her yet?" Riku asked, catching Sora off guard.

"What?" Sora asked, blushing red.

"You heard me." Riku replied.

"Well…Snow and Serah told me that I need to find a way to let her know. I'm not sure how I should do that." Sora said as Riku noticed something. It was a wagon full of plastic red roses that lit up when you flipped a switch attached to the stem. Riku smirked at the sight of them.

"Come with me Sora, I've got an idea." Riku said as he and Sora approached the cart.

"How much for one of those roses?" Riku asked the vendor.

"One hundred munny. Is it for someone special?" the vendor asked, eyeing Sora and making Riku's eye twitch and the vein on his forehead start to bulge.

"Ugh." Riku groaned, snatching a rose from the cart and forking over one hundred munny to the vendor before stomping back to the bench.

"Okay Sora, when Kairi comes back, I'll beat a hasty retreat and you give Kairi the rose once you tell her how you feel." Riku said, handing Sora the rose.

"You think it'll work?" Sora asked as Riku smiled and pat his friend on the back.

"Sure it will. Just don't mess it up. Here she comes, get ready." Riku said in a whisper as Kairi approached. Sora quickly hid the rose behind his back, not noticing a nearby horse drawn trolley car approach from up the street behind him, the horse eyeing the flower hungrily.

"Man that line was long, but it was well worth it." Kairi said as she returned with a chocolate covered ice cream bar shaped like Mickey's head. Riku cleared his throat as Sora grinned.

"Hey, I just remembered I left something back at the castle, I'm gonna go grab it real quick and be back in a while. See ya kids later!" Riku said as he turned around and started running towards the castle.

"Hmm, I wonder what he forgot." Kairi said, not noticing Riku had actually just ducked into a nearby alleyway. She then turned to Sora with a smile.

"Um-uh-well." Sora stuttered as Kairi cocked her head to one side curiously.

"Are you feeling okay Sora?" She asked, taking a bite of her ice cream bar.

"Um yeah uh. Kairi I want you to have this as a-…huh?" Sora asked as he pulled the rose out from behind his back to reveal that most of it had vanished. Kairi looked at the green stick of plastic curiously. The horse behind him was munching on something crunchy.

"It looks like you found some sort of green debris of some kind. I think you should throw it out Sora." Kairi said as Sora let his head drop forward before going off to toss out the remnants of the rose. Riku could be seen face palming in the alleyway.

"Geez, Sora. You have no luck with the girls whatsoever." Riku mumbled before he started approaching them again.

"Oh, Riku, did you find what you forgot?" Kairi asked as Riku shrugged.

"It wasn't important." Riku said as he stomped past her and up to Sora, taking him aside. Kairi shrugged and continued eating her ice cream bar.

"What was that?" He asked in a terse whisper.

"Don't look at me, that horse ate the rose!" Sora replied.

"Biggest waste of one hundred munny I've ever seen." Riku sighed, taking a deep breath, "Okay, we can still fix this. What we need is something romantic, something that screams "I love you" to her. Something like…"

"A Paopu fruit!" Sora exclaimed as Riku shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, that would work if you asked her to share one with you, but where are we going to find-." Riku said but was interrupted.

"No-no, look! Over there! Imported Paopu fruit!" Sora exclaimed, pointing to a nearby vendor with a cart full of Paopu fruit.

"Good eye." Riku said as Sora raced up to the vendor and quickly purchased a Paopu fruit.

"Okay then, now that I have this. All I need to do is ask Kairi to share it with me. That'll tell her how I feel about her right?" Sora asked as Riku crossed his arms with a smirk.

"She would have to be a real idiot to not realize it." Riku said as Sora grinned and turned around to look for Kairi. Oddly enough though, she wasn't there.

"Um, where is she?" Sora asked as Riku started looking around too.

"That's odd. She was here a moment ago." Riku said before Sora noticed something on the ground. It was a half eaten ice cream bar.

"Riku! Look!" Sora exclaimed, pointing to the bar.

"Help!" Kairi's voice called from nearby. The two boys suddenly spot her being carried off on the shoulder of a very familiar villain.

"Pete!" Sora exclaimed, pocketing the Paopu fruit and summoning his Keyblade. Riku summoned Way to Dawn, and together they gave chase to the fleeing villain. They continued to chase Pete through the streets, away from the castle. They finally caught up with him by an old river side dock that had Pete's old steamboat on display as a museum piece.

"Put her down, Pete!" Sora ordered as the villain turned towards them.

"Oh I don't think so bucko. You see, I've got orders to take this here Princess with me to see a good friend of yours. He's rather anxious to get his hands on her heart." Pete said as Sora aimed his Keyblade at Pete.

"I said put her down!" Sora ordered as Pete chuckled.

"Oh? And what'cha gonna do about it spiky boy?" Pete laughed challengingly. Sora didn't say a word, instead his Keyblade started glowing with energy, causing Pete to pause in confusion before suddenly Sora reared back the Keyblade and then swung it forward, stopping it when it was aimed at Pete. When this happened a massive circle of red and orange energy appeared before sending out countless yellow streaks of light from the edges that zeroed in on Pete and hit him head on, causing him to drop Kairi in the process. Riku quickly leapt over between Pete and Kairi, his Keyblade raised. Sora had just used Ragnarok, but this Ragnarok was different as the streaks of light continued flying from the edges of the circle. It was one of his Shoot Locks; Ragnarok Ultima.

"How do you like that?" Sora asked angrily. No one messed with Kairi and got away with it on his watch. Pete quickly recovered, he knew he was outnumbered and outmatched.

"Well, then if you're gonna be so tough, allow me to bring in some old friends of yours!" Pete said with a grin as Riku scoffed.

"The Cornerstone of Light will kill off any Heartless that try to come here. You have nothing." Riku said as Pete nodded.

"Well-well-well, mister high and mighty gets one half-right for a change. True, I can't use the Heartless, but I can use something else!" Pete said with a grin as he snapped his fingers and instantly a series of small portals opened up, causing countless Dusks to drop through.

"Nobodies!" Sora exclaimed as Riku slapped his forehead.

"Augh! I should have known! Nobodies are technically neither light nor darkness, so they immune to the Cornerstone's power!" Riku said as Kairi climbed to her feet and summoned her Keyblade.

"Right again! You must be the smart one!" Pete laughed before reaching into his pockets and pulling out the two pendants he had earlier. The Nobodies simply stood in place around them, waiting for the order to attack.

"How did you learn to summon nobodies?" Sora asked.

"Well where do you think? From Xehanort of course!" Pete laughed.

"You won't get away with this, Pete!" Sora said as Pete laughed again.

"Oh I'm sure I will spiky, 'cause I have two insurance policies to make sure I do!" Pete said as he raised the pendants which started to glow before transforming into two large white and black spheres with nobody thorns swirling around them. One had a pair of strange yet familiar looking guns inside, while the other had a familiar looking tomahawk inside.

"Uh-oh, more Absent Silhouettes!" Sora exclaimed as the Silhouettes burst open, revealing two hooded figures. They pulled back their hoods to reveal Xigbar and Lexaeus, with their weapons primed.

"Hope you kids enjoy!" Pete laughed as he turned and ran away, with the Dusks still pouring through the portals.

"There's too many of them! We can't fight both the Dusks and the Silhouettes on our own!" Riku exclaimed. Just then a Thundaga blast took out a small patch of Dusks. Then an airborne shield flew in and cut through some more, until finally a small figure wielding a Keyblade leapt in and started cutting down Dusks. It was King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"Sora! We're here to help!" Mickey said as he fought.

"Yeah! You can count on us pal!" Goofy added.

"Let's get 'em!" Donald exclaimed as they started unleashing on the Nobodies.

"You guys deal with those two, I'll help the King and the others!" Kairi said as she quickly joined in with Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Sora and Riku nodded to each other before leaping into the fray with Xigbar and Lexaeus. Sora went after Xigbar and Riku went after Lexaeus.

This battle was about to get very heated.

* * *

**End Chapter 22.**


	23. Disney Town Part 2

Sora and Riku had both leapt towards Xigbar and Lexaeus respectively. Sora took a vicious swing at Xigbar who warped out of the way and started firing off the red bolts of energy, causing Sora to have to start deflecting them. Sora attempted to use Gravaga on him but Xigbar remained unaffected due to his power over space. Activating his armor, Sora started unleashing Thundaga blasts aimed at the Freeshooter who continuously warped out of the way until finally Sora felt a familiar tingling feeling in his heart and in a flash, entered the Thunder Bolt Command Style. Xigbar finally stopped moving but he had reappeared atop a nearby tower and aimed his gun towards Sora like a sniper rifle. Sora quickly threw up a Reflega just as Xigbar fired a concentrated bolt of energy which harmlessly bounced off the shield.

Sora glared up at Xigbar who warped back down to his level and started firing off a flurry of bolts before finishing with a single blue bolt. Sora quickly batted the blue bolt back towards Xigbar who warped away again but this time, the bolt followed him and hit him head on when he reappeared. Xigbar skid across the ground due to the force of the blow and picked himself up. He stared at Sora silently with his one good eye before aiming his two guns at him again. Sora, instead of attempting to attack, simply started evading and casting reflega to deflect the bolts of energy until finally he felt the power from Thunder Bolt waning and he felt the warm and peaceful feeling of the Light of the Heart Command Style in his heart having built up. He shunted the energy into his Keyblade, becoming enveloped in a clean and crisp white light and surrounded by a simple bubble shield. The onlookers were amazed by Sora's strength when they had the opportunity to look.

"Sora." Kairi said in silent awe as she watched her friend immediately leap into action against Xigbar. She could also sense a strange feeling in her heart, a strange tugging feeling, like her heart was feeding Sora with some of the excess light magic within her heart but she couldn't explain how or why. Sora glared at Xigbar and aimed his Keyblade at the Freeshooter, causing the five pointed star, shaped like Kairi's Lucky Charm to appear on the tip before sending out a beautiful white beam of light towards the Silhouette. Xigbar attempted to warp out of the way but the beam quickly arced around and slammed into him when he reappeared. Xigbar twitched in pain before the beam dissipated, leaving him in a dazed stagger. The shield around Sora immediately disappeared as his Keyblade started to glow with the same crisp white light. Sora reared back the Keyblade before leaping up slightly and rocketing towards Xigbar, leaving a long trail of light from behind it as it flew through the air. Xigbar was too dazed to move and in a bright flash of light, Sora effortlessly cut clean through him.

Sora stood up and turned around to face the Freeshooter as he dropped to one knee with a grunt of agony. Xigbar looked over his shoulder with his good eye towards Sora before he gave a small smirk and a nod as he started turning transparent. He let a small chuckle escape as he gave a small two fingered salute with his hand and finally disappeared for good.

**…**

Riku lunged at Lexaeus who blocked the youth's attack with his tomahawk. Riku snarled at the towering yet Silent Hero before getting shoved back. Lexaeus let out an enraged roar as he slammed the ground with his tomahawk, causing a massive pillar of rock to shoot up from underneath Riku's feet, sending him flying. Riku attempted to use Dark Firaga on him but nothing happened, the spell didn't cast. Riku slammed into the ground but quickly leapt to his feet, Keyblade raised. Lexaeus roared in anger, creating a massive orange and red hued glow around him that Riku recognized. Lexaeus was invincible in this form. Riku quickly attempted to throw up a Dark Shield but again nothing happened and Lexaeus continued charging. Riku suddenly realized why his powers weren't working…the Cornerstone of Light suppressed all darkness, including Darkness magic and Riku didn't know any magic spells other than Darkness magic. His eyes widened as Lexaeus closed the distance between them and he raised his Keyblade in a defensive posture in a hope that it would stop the attack. Lexaeus was about to bring down his tomahawk on the youth's head when suddenly a massive wall of windblown brown sand blew in from out of nowhere and threw the Silent Hero back to where he had started the charge. The sandstorm disappeared just as fast as it had arrived and Riku looked around in confusion. He heard a strange rattling noise coming from nearby along with the flapping of a cape. He looked to his left and saw, kneeling next to him with both hands on a long brown metal Keyblade with blue guard was a suit of armor almost identical to Sora and Aqua's only noticeably different. He then heard a metallic voice echo on the wind.

"_You…you are the one that I have chosen."_ The voice said as Riku stood speechless at the armored warrior. Lexaeus had been knocked onto his back but was slowly recovering.

"What?" Riku asked as the armored warrior raised its head towards Sora who was still battling Xigbar at the time.

"_Ven must reawaken…Ven must free us." _The Lingering Sentiment said. His head then jerked back around towards Lexaeus as he heard the Silent Hero grunting as he stood up. The Sentiment proceeded to stand up, pulling his Keyblade free and entering a battle stance. (Battle music cue: Rage Awakened). Riku attempted to enter his battle stance as well but the Sentiment blocked his path.

"_Xe-ha-nort…Xeha-nort…XEHANORT!" _The sentiment roared as he lunged forward with his Keyblade raised. Lexaeus hardly had time to react as the sentiment swung at him, but fortunately for Lexaeus, he managed to bring his tomahawk around in time to block the blow but in the process get shoved towards the far wall from the force of the blow. Lexaeus started glowing with his invincible aura again just as the sentiment disappeared and then reappeared for another attack. Lexaeus and the Sentiment clashed with a furious flash of light appearing whenever their blades clashed.

Riku could only watch as the sentiment and Lexaeus battled each other ferociously but he could tell that the sentiment had the clear advantage. The sentiment continued its endless assault until finally Lexaeus's aura of invincibility disappeared and in a flash the Sentiment disappeared only to reappear overhead with a powerful downward blow. It then disappeared again and attacked from the side, then again from another side, and once more from another side until finally it stopped and reappeared next to Riku as Lexaeus stood stunned. He then dropped his tomahawk to the ground beside him and dropped to his knees as he started turning transparent. Living up to his title, Lexaeus, the Silent Hero, remained silent as he vanished for good.

The Sentiment then turned towards Riku and stared down at him. Riku gulped hard before the sentiment looked up and around at the surrounding battle between Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi, against the Dusks. The sentiment drove it's Keyblade into the ground and started glowing with an aura of red energy. In an instant a powerful whirlwind of brown sand swept in and obliterated the Dusks before disappearing as fast as it appeared. By this time Sora had finished his battle with Xigbar and his armor returned to the shoulder piece.

"Whoa." He said in awe at the disappearance of the Dusks. Lingering Sentiment looked down at Riku again. Riku then felt his Keyblade vibrating and emitting a low hum. He raised the Road to Dawn and looked at it curiously.

"_You are the one I chose."_ The Sentiment said in its metallic voice.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Riku asked but the sentiment offered no response as it knelt down with both hands on the Keyblade and its head ducked down.

"_My liberation is at hand…my redemption…is nigh."_ The sentiment said as it started to glow again but this time is vanished in a flash of red light, Keyblade and all, into the left shoulder piece. The shoulder piece hovered in the air for a moment before falling to the ground with a clatter. Everyone gathered around in silent curiosity and stared down at the armor piece.

"(Yawn) What's everyone looking at?" A voice asked tiredly. Everyone turned and saw Aqua standing nearby, her blue hair a mess, and imprints on the right side of her face from having used her arm for a pillow. They each gave her a blank glare.

"What?" She asked innocently yet completely clueless.

* * *

**A Few Minutes Later in the Castle…**

"Terra…" Aqua said quietly as she fingered the armor piece in her hand, "…I knew we would see his sentiment again."

"So what does this mean? What do we do now?" Kairi asked. It was just her, Aqua, Sora, and Riku in the throne room. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were in town checking for any stray Nobodies while Queen Minnie oversaw the preparation of Riku and Kairi's gummy ship with Daisy, Jiminy, Chip, and Dale.

"We can't stay here. Xehanort has proven to us that even the Cornerstone of Light can be circumvented by his minions. But when did he gain the ability to command the Nobodies?" Riku asked.

"It's not Xehanort commanding them…well, not all of him." Aqua said, gaining confused looks from the other three.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Have you noticed that whenever we face Xehanort himself, that he always sends Nobodies after us? Why not Heartless? Why not send them instead?" Aqua asked as the three pondered in silence until finally…

"Darkness…" Riku said, "…The struggle between Terra and Xehanort's hearts negates their power and makes it where he cannot control the Heartless because their two hearts push it into a sort of, neutral area, allowing him to control Nobodies instead of Heartless."

"That's exactly what I was thinking Riku." Aqua said as she pocketed Terra's armor piece.

"Then, what about when we first saw Xehanort on the islands? He seemed almost insane." Kairi said as Sora realized this too.

"Hey yeah. Then when we ran into him in Radiant Garden, he was all evil and such like usual. Then in Twilight Town, Terra was in control." Sora said.

"I imagine it has to do with the hearts that are around him at a given time. He's probably surrounded by hearts filled with darkness such as Maleficent or that Emperor guy we ran into in the Bayou. Being around them must give Master Xehanort's own black heart a sort of boost, allowing him to maintain control. But in Twilight Town, a world in between light and darkness, Terra must have used all his strength to temporarily overpower Xehanort's heart to try and give us a warning." Aqua explained.

"It makes sense. So what would happen if he were in a world of light?" Sora asked.

"Terra would be able to exert much more control, but not for long. Terra succumbed to the Darkness before Xehanort possessed him, so there is a noticeable stain on his heart that weakens his connection to the light. Xehanort holds that advantage over him in his being a heart of pure darkness." Aqua said as Sora nodded understandingly.

"Then what are we going to do to keep Riku and Kairi safe?" Sora asked as Riku tapped his chin.

"It won't be easy. No offence Kairi but outside this world, your heart would draw Xehanort's attention." Riku said as Kairi looked down at her hand and summoned her Keyblade for a moment.

"Radiant Garden would be the best option. There are plenty of people there who can keep Kairi safe from harm. Leon, Lightning, Tifa, Snow…just about everyone." Aqua said as Riku nodded.

"And I'll be there." Riku added.

"But what about you two?" Kairi asked, motioning to Sora and Aqua.

"What about us?" Aqua asked confused.

"You're putting yourselves in danger and yet you're more concerned with me than yourselves." Kairi said as Aqua sighed and Sora put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kairi, I have to become a master. I have to put things right. I have to restore Ven and Terra. We have to do this for the worlds." Sora said as Kairi looked at him and sighed.

"I just…Mmm." She said before looking away bashfully. Sora didn't notice but he did absently reach into his pocket and was fingering the Paopu fruit inside.

"Sora, we know what you have to do, and we're rooting for ya." Riku said, giving his friend a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Thanks Riku, and once all this is over, I'll come back and teach you everything I've learned." Sora said with a smile.

"You better because I don't much relish the fact that I'm stuck relying on darkness magic while you're off getting stronger. Mark my words Sora; I'll get the better of you eventually." Riku said with a challenging smirk which Sora returned while crossing his arms. Aqua couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the two friends. It reminded her of the fun times she spent with Terra and Ven all those years ago. They then heard the doors to the throne room open and shut. They turned to see Mickey, Donald, and Goofy approaching them.

"No sign of any more Nobodies, so I guess we're all good to go with the Million Dreams Celebration." Mickey said excitedly as the four looked at each other.

"I'm afraid that we can't really afford to stick around, Mickey. We've got to get going." Riku said as Mickey sighed, a little crestfallen but he gave an understanding nod.

"Donald, Goofy, make sure the gummy ship is ready for takeoff, on the double." Mickey ordered, causing the two to stand at attention and salute simultaneously.

"Yes sir your majesty!" they replied in unison before turning and running back out the door.

"Kairi, as a Keyblade Master, it is my sworn duty to escort you to Radiant Garden…and it would also be my honor and pleasure to do so." Aqua said as she activated her armor, minus the helmet, and gave a polite curtsey.

"You don't have to do that for me, really." Kairi said bashfully.

"You're a Princess of Heart; we would be ignoring our duty if we didn't escort you." Sora said as he too summoned his armor without the helmet, causing Kairi to giggle and turn a deep shade of crimson.

"Riku, you'll have to ride with her." Aqua said as Riku rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess being unable to summon a Keyblade Rider would kinda take the wind out of one's sails." Riku said with a shrug.

"Don't worry, Riku. You'll learn to do it one day." Mickey said as Riku smirked.

"Thanks Mickey. I appreciate it." Riku said as Donald and Goofy returned.

"The Gummy Ship is all ready your Highness." Goofy reported.

"You're good to go!" Donald added.

"Well come on everybody, let's go!" Sora said as they ran for the Gummy Ship Hanger.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

"Pete you incompetent fool! If I needed someone to be a total and complete blunder, then I can honestly say that I have one…YOU!" Xehanort spat angrily as Pete trembled before the dark lord.

"How very tragic that you must deal with such worms that do little more than lay there." Emperor Mateus said from the shadows as he entered with Gabranth behind him to his right.

"Speaking of worms…" Xehanort mumbled to himself.

"My apologies for my tardiness but I was dealing with some matters in my own world recently and it ate away my time. I'm sure it won't happen again." Mateus said in his oily tone as Xehanort glanced at him and walked past the Emperor towards the central table where Maleficent stood watching the glowing magic sphere. Within the sphere was an image of a Kingdom Model Gummy ship accompanied by two armored warriors on their Keyblade Riders on either side of it as all three flew off towards Radiant Garden.

"It makes no difference Mateus." Xehanort said dismissively.

"Once the Princess of Heart is ours, then collecting the remaining Princesses won't be as difficult." Maleficent said as an evil smirk swept Xehanort's face.

"Mateus, I think I know what you can do to secure your place at my side." Xehanort said as he turned towards the Emperor.

"And that would be?" Mateus asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I know the training methods that the late Keyblade Master, Eraqus, used to train his pupils and inevitably they will arrive at one of the worlds under your domain…the Mirage Arena." Xehanort said as Mateus pondered.

"A very interesting thought. I happen to have three or four prisoners of my own kept there and forced to fight in continuous matches until their inevitable demise. Do you wish for me to do the same to those two Keyblade wielding fools?" Mateus asked as Xehanort tapped his chin.

"If you use them as bait, they will most certainly draw those two in but you will need some extra help in dealing with them." Xehanort said as he turned towards the shadows where Sephiroth stood with his arms crossed while leaning against the nearby wall.

"Sephiroth, we could use your talent with a sword for this one, if you would be so kind." Xehanort said as Sephiroth stood up and approached them silently.

"What's in this for me?" Sephiroth asked as Mateus smiled sinisterly and aimed his scepter at the glowing sphere over the table causing it to become cloudy for a moment before dissipating and revealing an image that made Sephiroth smirk sinisterly.

"Impressive. Keeping him captive is not easy. Looks like I'll be able to help out after all." Sephiroth said as Mateus smirked and turned to leave with Gabranth in tow.

"Then I shall await your arrival within the arena." Mateus said as he and Gabranth disappeared into the shadows. As soon as they disappeared though, Xehanort turned to Sephiroth.

"As promised, I have delivered that which you seek unto you, now you need only keep your end of the bargain." Xehanort said as Sephiroth gave an acknowledging nod.

"He won't even see what hit him until it's too late." Sephiroth said as he walked off into the shadows after Mateus.

"Excellent." Xehanort said slowly as he put his hands behind his back with a dark smirk. Maleficent was smiling as well.

"All according to plan, milord?" Maleficent said as Xehanort approached the table.

"Very much so. Pete…you must be ready to act at a moment's notice." Xehanort said as the still cowering Pete nodded frantically.

"Y-y-y-y-yes sir!" he whimpered as he started backing away slowly.

"And Pete-…" Xehanort growled causing the henchman to freeze mid-step, "…-Don't fail me again."

With that Pete scrambled away in fear, leaving the two villains to their scheming.

* * *

**End Chapter 23.**


	24. Romance Under the Stars

It was nighttime in Radiant Garden as a bright flash of light appeared in the empty marketplace, depositing two young Keyblade wielders, one of them being a Princess of Heart, where the light once appeared. The two were soon joined by Sora and Aqua on their Keyblade Riders.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever been here at night." Sora said as he and the others looked up at the star filled sky.

"Come on, we can't linger. We've got to get to Merlin's House before the Heartless start showing up…or worse." Aqua said as they silently nodded and started following her. They soon arrived at Merlin's without incident, but before they even reached the door, it opened for them, revealing Snow on the other side.

"Hey-hey, you guys made it. We were getting worried there for a while." Snow said as he and Riku knuckle bumped as the latter passed by. Kairi also promptly glomped Serah.

"Looks like you found some of the people you were looking for." Lightning said to Aqua who shook her head.

"Not them. We knew where they were. I assume Leon and the gang have filled you in on our mission?" Aqua asked as Lightning nodded.

"Mmm." She replied. Leon was sitting at the desk in the far corner while Kairi, Serah, Yuffie, Tifa, Aerith, Yuna, and Rikku were sitting off at the adjacent corner, gossiping while Riku pulled Sora and Snow over to the other end near Cid's computer. Hope took notice and joined them.

"Alright you spiky haired lug, now we can talk." Riku said, shoving Sora against the wall, earning a confused look from the surrounding men.

"Something wrong, Riku?" Snow asked as Riku nodded.

"Yeah, I'm trying to get Sora to talk to Kairi." Riku replied, again gaining confused looks from the guys except Sora who understood.

"Whaddya mean? I thought that the two of 'em talked to each other just fine." Cid said as Riku rolled his eyes.

"I mean talk as in 'about feelings." Riku replied, eliciting a chorus of "Oh's" from the other guys.

"Sora, you mean after all Serah and I told you, you still haven't told Kairi how you feel?" Snow asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose in mild frustration.

"I've tried! I just can't get it right." Sora said as Riku sighed and nodded.

"He's right actually. Fate just seems to hate him. We tried using a plastic rose in Disney Town but a dumb horse ate it. We were going to try…hey, wait a minute, Sora do you still have that Paopu fruit you bought?" Riku asked as Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the Paopu fruit.

"What's that?" Hope asked.

"It's a Paopu fruit, Hope. They grow on the Destiny Islands where it's said that whenever two people share a Paopu fruit, their destinies become intertwined. That they'll remain a part of each other, no matter what." Snow explained.

"Oh…OH!" Hope replied in realization before giving Sora a playful elbow to the ribcage, "Nice, so which one is Kairi?"

"The red head in the pink outfit." Cid replied as Hope spotted her. He then turned back to Sora.

"You sir have good taste." Hope added.

"So what are you waiting for Sora? A written invitation? Go get her." Riku said as Sora gave him an exasperated glare.

"What? In front of everyone?" he asked in a whisper.

"Oh that's no problem. We can just have everyone step outside for a while." Snow said with a shrug but Riku had a better idea.

"Wait a sec, Snow. Better idea. Sora, go ask Kairi if she would like to take a walk. Take her out to the Dark Depths; you'll get the better view of the stars out there." Riku said as Sora smiled and nodded. He then took a deep breath and started walking bravely towards the cluster of women. Aqua took notice as she saw him pass by. He took another deep breath as he reached the women and cleared his throat. All heads spun around towards him.

"Um Kairi…" Sora said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Yes, Sora?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Would…would-you-like-to-go-for-a-walk?" Sora asked quickly before bracing himself for rejection.

"Sure, why not." Kairi said as she hopped off the chair she was sitting for, causing Sora to blink in confusion.

"Huh?" Sora asked in disbelief. The men were silently cheering to themselves in the corner.

"Well it's a beautiful night outside and I've always wondered if the stars are different on other worlds. So sure, I don't mind going outside with you." Kairi said as Sora grinned excitedly.

"Oh-uh-yeah-uh-sure-um-after you." Sora said motioning for her to pass by. He then followed her out the door, closing it behind him. Aqua couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well I better go keep an eye on them. Never know when they may need help." Aqua said as Riku nodded in agreement.

"You mind if I come along?" Riku asked as Aqua nodded.

"Sure, it's fine with me." Aqua said as they walked out the door. Snow unexpectedly felt a painful tugging at his ear, causing him to yelp as he was yanked down to Serah's level.

"How come we never go and look up at the stars anymore, Snow?" Serah asked as Snow grinned innocently.

"You first?" he asked as Serah smiled back and started heading for the door. Snow wiped the sweat from his brow but caught a warning glare from Lightning as he passed.

**…**

Outside, overlooking the vast blue stone canyon, Aqua and Riku sat on the wall watching as Sora and Kairi walked out into the canyon.

"Oh for crying out loud Sora, hold her hand at least." Aqua mumbled as she watched them with a pair of night-vision goggles a-la-Cid. Riku had a pair of his own as well.

"Sometimes I worry about that guy. Was Ven ever this timid?" Riku asked as Aqua sighed.

"He was at first. Then he got a little braver. You know, it's funny. Sora has faced some tough opponents before. Xehanort's Heartless, Xemnas, almost all of those Organization guys and each time he's emerged victorious. Yet when confronted with simply expressing his feelings, he could almost faint on command." Aqua said as Riku shrugged.

"I guess that's just love for you." Riku said.

"Yeah." Aqua added with a nod as Snow and Serah approached.

"Mind if we join you guys?" Serah asked.

"My wall is your wall." Aqua said as the two sat down next to her.

"It sure is beautiful out." Serah said as she snuggled up to Snow's chest with his arms around her.

"It sure is. Hey Riku, bet you're feeling left out right now huh?" Snow asked as Riku lowered his goggles again in thought and smacked his forehead.

"Oh! Stupid! (Sigh) Well there's no point in trying to stop it. I'd just get in the dog house with those two." Riku said earning confused looks from the others.

"Why? What is it?" Aqua asked. (Music Cue: Lion King: Can you feel the love tonight)

_"I can see what's happening…" _Riku said.

"What?" Aqua asked as Riku continued…

_"…and they don't have a clue!"_

"Who?" Snow and Serah both asked in unison as Riku continued…

_"They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line,_  
_Our trio's down the tube."_

"Oh." The other three replied as Riku continued, motioning around them as he sang…

_"The sweet caress of twilight._  
_There's 'magic' everywhere…"_

"It's Radiant Garden, there's always m-…" Aqua said but was interrupted as Riku finished sarcastically…

_"…and with all this romantic atmosphere,_  
_disaster's in the air!"_

The other three chuckled for a moment before Serah then started singing…

_"Can you feel the love tonight?_  
_The peace the evening brings._  
_The worlds, for once, in perfect harmony,_  
_with all their living things."_

Down in the Canyon, Sora and Kairi were passing over the field where the Thousand Heartless Battle took place. In his mind Sora was thinking…

_"So many things to tell her…_  
_but how to make her see._  
_The truth about my heart? Impossible!_  
_She might turn away from me."_

But he didn't realize that Kairi was thinking something very similar…

_"I'm holding back, I'm hiding,_  
_but why, I can't decide._  
_Why can't I say the things I know I feel,_  
_my feelings deep inside!"_

Kairi thought before they saw a shooting star overhead and they both gave chase after it on foot towards the Dark Depths as Serah and Aqua both started singing in unison…

_"Can you feel the love tonight?_  
_The peace the evening brings._  
_The worlds, for once, in perfect harmony_  
_with all their living things."_

Then Snow joined singing with them…

_"Can you feel the love tonight?_  
_You needn't look too far._  
_Stealing through the night's uncertainties,_  
_love is where they are."_

Then Serah, tears of joy running down her face, sang…

_"And if they fall in love tonight…" (Sniff)_

Snow then replied, handing her a handkerchief…

_"…It can be assumed…"_

Riku added with a sigh…

_"…those carefree days, of just us, are history…"_

Then Aqua finished with a grin…

_"…In short, our pal is do-omed!"_

(End Music)

At that the foursome immediately erupted into laughter at Aqua's final line. But in the Dark Depths, Sora and Kairi lost sight of the shooting star and stopped to catch their breath.

"That was amazing! I don't think I've ever seen a shooting star before." Kairi said as Sora smiled.

"It really is amazing, huh Kairi?" Sora asked as he looked at her, bathed in the light of the moon. His heart almost melted at the sight.

"I'm glad you asked me to join you Sora. It's really beautiful out." Kairi said as she turned towards him.

"Well, I'm glad I asked you to join me." Sora stammered.

"Hey, I just realized something. You were trying to ask me something while we were in Disney Town before Pete grabbed me. What was it?" Kairi asked as Sora gulped and he reached into his pocket for the Paopu fruit.

"Well…um…I was wondering if…well…" Sora said hesitatingly as Kairi looked at him with an expression almost begging him to say what she wanted to hear.

"Well…" she said softly and hopefully.

"Kairi, would you…" Sora said, putting his other hand behind his head nervously.

"Yes?" She asked expectantly, both their hearts racing.

"Would you like to share-…" Sora said as Kairi looked deep into his eyes.

"Share what?" She asked. Unexpectedly he then grunted in pain and clutched his chest with both hands. Kairi's eyes widened in panic as he staggered backwards.

"Kairi!" He wheezed, but she didn't dare move, because what she saw was chilling her right to the bone. There appeared to be a flickering image of someone else appearing over Sora. He then placed his hand to his head in agony. Then for a brief moment Kairi saw the image solidify over Sora. To her mind it looked like Roxas, but she knew it wasn't him since he also had an armor piece on his shoulder. The image then vanished and Sora collapsed onto his knees before passing out completely.

"Oh no! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP!" Kairi shouted into the night. Fortunately Aqua and Riku were first on the scene thanks to Aqua's Keyblade Rider.

"What's wrong! What's happened?" Aqua asked as she checked his vitals.

"I dunno! He just started flickering like you would in a sci-fi movie and I saw this guy appear over him…He looked almost completely like Roxas but he had an armor piece on his shoulder!" Kairi explained as Aqua's eyes widened in shock.

"What does that mean?" Riku asked as Aqua picked up her apprentice.

"It means we're close to awakening Ven's heart. Once it's fully awakened, we'll need to head to my homeworld to put his heart into his body." Aqua said as they started running back to Radiant Garden.

"What will happen to Sora then?" Kairi asked.

"Sora will still be the same. Nothing should change with him." Aqua replied, although mentally… _"At least, I hope nothing changes with him."_

* * *

**The Following Morning…**

Sora cracked his eyes open tiredly to find himself lying on the bed in Merlin's house.

"Morning!" Yuffie said as she appeared staring down at him, and subsequently scaring him half to death.

"YAHH!" He yelped as he jumped up onto his feet, causing Yuffie and Rikku to nearly die laughing.

"You're too easy Sora!" Yuffie laughed.

"Leave him alone." Leon said, shooing the two off before turning to Sora, "You alright Sora?"

"Yeah, I feel alright. What happened to me?" Sora asked as he looked around. He noticed that it was just him, Leon, Aqua, Tifa, Kairi, and Riku in the room. Yuffie and Rikku had fled when Leon stepped in.

"From what we can gather, Ven's heart tried to take control of you." Aqua said, confusing Sora.

"What?" Sora asked in silent shock.

"Ven's heart is awakening within you Sora, which means that you're close to becoming a master." Aqua said as Sora looked down at his chest and placed a hand on it.

"And if that's the case, then the two of you need to hurry up and finish training him." Leon said as Aqua nodded.

"You've got that right Leon. Sora, I think it's time we get going. We've taken this long to relax, so now we need to start moving again." Aqua said as Sora took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright. I'm ready to go master." Sora said as Aqua nodded and headed for the door with Riku, Tifa, and Leon behind. Kairi was following after them but Sora caught her.

"Hey, Kairi, did I say or do anything before I blacked out?" Sora asked as Kairi paused and glanced away from him.

"No. You didn't do anything Sora. Nothing at all." She said quietly before she walked out the door. Sora mentally wanted to smash his head through the door in frustration but hung his head in shame, following after the others. Outside, Aqua had just summoned her Keyblade Rider.

"Hey, do you guys mind keeping an eye out for Cloud and our friends? They've been gone for a long time and I've heard nothing from them. I'm starting to get worried." Tifa said as Sora summoned his armor and Keyblade Rider.

"We'll keep both our eyes peeled for you Tifa. Though we'll have to rely on Sora more than me since he knows what he looks like and I don't." Aqua said with a chuckle. Tifa smiled and nodded understandingly.

"Come on Sora, daylight's burning." Aqua said as she hopped onto her Keyblade Rider.

"Hurry back Sora." Kairi said as Sora hopped onto his Keyblade Rider.

"Don't worry Kairi. Hey, maybe the next time you see me, I'll be a true Keyblade Master." Sora said as Kairi smiled up at him.

"Take care out there buddy." Riku said as Sora nodded. Soon he and Aqua rocketed out towards the stars. While in flight, Sora flew up next to Aqua.

"So where are we going now?" Sora asked as Aqua glanced in his direction for a second.

"You need some practice with your new abilities so we're going to the best place to do that. A place better than Olympus Coliseum." Aqua said, earning Sora's attention.

"Really? Where's that?" Sora asked before Aqua replied…

"A place called, Mirage Arena."

* * *

**End Chapter 24.**

A/N: Bom-bom-bom! The plot thickens!

The song above was "Can you feel the Love Tonight" From Disney's Lion King. The lyrics were altered to fit the scene.


	25. Mirage Arena

Sora and Aqua were flying through the blackness of space, side by side on their Keyblade Riders when Aqua noticed Sora suddenly started speeding up ahead of her.

"Come on slow poke! The Arena's this way!" Sora said tauntingly.

"Yeah right! It's this way you spiky haired turtle!" Aqua replied with a laugh as she sped ahead of him.

"Nuh-uh! It's this way!" Sora remarked as he again pulled ahead.

"Oh give me a break Ven!" Aqua replied causing Sora to pause midflight. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. He then noticed Aqua was in front of him, but completely turned towards him on her Keyblade Rider.

"Sora are you alright?" he heard Aqua ask curiously.

"Did…did you just call me Ven?" Sora asked.

"What? No. Why would I do that?" Aqua asked as Sora shook his head real hard.

"I dunno. Weren't we just racing towards the arena just now?" Sora asked.

"Well we are in a hurry after all." Aqua replied.

"No-no, I mean race as in last-one-there-is-a-rotten-egg kind of race." Sora replied as Aqua shook her head slowly.

"Are you feeling alright Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora placed a hand on his helmeted head.

"It's just so strange. I feel like we were racing each other just now but at the same time I know that we weren't. Like a dream…yet…not a dream. It was so vivid." Sora said as Aqua pondered. Sora then thought of something.

"Did…did you and Ven ever race to the arena?" Sora asked as Aqua looked up at him surprised.

"You know, we did on numerous occasions to practice. Terra would usually follow behind us. Sora I think you might have accidently experienced one of Ven's memories." Aqua said as Sora stood stunned.

"One of his memories?" he asked as Aqua nodded.

"Come on, we should talk about this once we have some solid ground under our feet." Aqua said as she turned and they started flying off again. Soon Mirage Arena was in sight.

"Alright! We're almost there!" Aqua said. Suddenly bolts of energy flew in from behind them.

"What in the?" Sora yelped as they quickly started dodging the bolts being fired from several small gummy ships that Sora recognized as belonging to both the Heartless and the Nobodies.

"What kind of weapons do we have?" Sora asked as Aqua turned and pointed at the attacking gummy ships. Almost instantly a Thundaga bolt flew from her hand and struck one of the attacking gummy ships, causing it to explode.

"That oughta do it!" Sora yelled as he turned to fire a Thundaga bolt of his own but as he did he froze at what he saw behind them.

"Uh, Aqua!" Sora shouted causing Aqua to look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw a massive sailing vessel shaped gummy ship with an carving of Emperor Mateus on the bow flying straight at them with a sea of Heartless and Nobody gummy ships all around it.

"Make for the arena! Don't stop!" Aqua shouted as they sped up. A wall of gummy ships proceeded to warp into place between them and the world barrier to the Arena and the two Keyblade wielders but they didn't seem deterred.

"Blast 'em Sora!" Aqua shouted as she fired multiple Thundaga bolts at the wall of gummy ships as Sora did the same. The blasts created a hole in the wall but it was too small for the Keyblade Riders to fit through.

"Sora! Dismiss the Rider and aim for the hole!" Aqua shouted. Sora didn't even argue, he immediately dismissed the Keyblade Rider and rode the remaining momentum through the hole along with Aqua. They passed through the wall and then proceeded to crash through the world barrier, landing hard on their faces on a cold metal floor.

"Ugh, that was new." Aqua grumbled as she and Sora rolled onto their backs, dismissing their helmets.

"Yeah, I don't think I want to do that again, Master." Sora said as they both caught their breath.

"At least we made it." Aqua said with a sigh.

"I wouldn't consider that a blessing quite yet." An unfamiliar man's voice said from nearby. They both craned their necks backwards to see two people behind them. They both leapt to their feet, not dismissing their armor, and looked at the two curiously.

The first was a semi-muscular man with black and blue armor with a blue cape. He had silver hair covered by a blue, orange and white bandana. He was also carrying an alarming assortment of weapons, a sword, an axe, a bow, a staff, a dagger, and a lance.

Standing next to him was a petite young blond haired woman wearing a sleeveless red dress with floral patterns and two long red gloves with a pale pink cape. Her legs were covered by patterned white tights, and she wore pointed red and gold boots. At her side was a thin sheath for a sword.

"What's going on here?" Aqua asked confused.

"I would say welcome to Mirage Arena, but then again, you really are going to wish you hadn't gotten caught here." The man said as Sora scratched his head.

"Why were those guys chasing us?" Sora asked.

"They're there to make sure that we don't escape." The girl replied with a heavy sigh.

"You mean we're trapped here?" Aqua asked as the man nodded.

"Afraid so." The man replied with a frustrated sigh. The girl then cleared her throat, catching the man's attention.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The girl said as the man smiled slightly.

"The name's Firion." The man said.

"And I'm Terra Branford." The girl greeted with a polite curtsy.

"Terra?" Sora and Aqua both asked in unison, giving her a strange look.

"We just call her Tina really." Firion (Final Fantasy II) said.

"Yeah, apparently people just don't remember the name Terra. I don't know why." Terra/Tina (Final Fantasy VI) said with a shrug as Firion mumbled something about a "translation issue."

"Not everyone. We're actually trying to help a friend of ours named Terra…only our Terra's a guy." Sora said as Tina giggled slightly.

"I'm pretty sure that we're not the same Terra." Tina replied.

"Yeah, you definitely aren't the same Terra." Sora chuckled.

"I think it's our turn to introduce ourselves. I'm Aqua, and this is my apprentice, Sora." Aqua introduced.

"Pleasure. Too bad we couldn't meet under better circumstances." Firion said as Sora looked around. The area they were in was on a large round disc suspended in space with a pair of large rotating rings surrounding it on two individual axis. Along the opposite edge of the disc was a large computer terminal with a multitude of glowing blue screens hovering in the air along the opposite "wall." In the center of the disc was a slightly sunken area beneath a massive glowing white sphere. (A/N: For visual reference, check the KH Wiki page under Mirage Arena.)

"So is it just the two of you here?" Aqua asked as the two looked at each other.

"No, there are two other people here besides us." Firion replied.

"We all got trapped here at the same time and we've been forced to constantly fight in the Emperor's tournament." Tina added. Aqua and Sora paused.

"Wait, did you say Emperor?" Sora asked.

"Weird snobby guy with too much face makeup and wearing a gold bodysuit with matching staff?" Aqua asked as Firion sighed.

"That's the guy. Emperor Mateus. He's taken over this world. We've been trying to stop him but from here, we can't do much." Firion said as Tina nodded sadly.

"Great. We've fallen into a trap." Sora said as he face palmed.

"But where are the other two people you said you arrived with?" Aqua asked.

"They're in a fight right now. We don't know if they'll ever come back." Tina replied. However as soon as she said that a loud klaxon blared and a beam of light appeared in the sunken area of the platform, revealing a kneeling figure holding a large sword wrapped in white bandages. Sora recognized him instantly.

"Cloud! It's you!" Sora exclaimed as the man looked up. Sure enough it was the former SOLDIER.

"Sora? What are you doing here?" Cloud asked as he breathed heavily, catching his breath.

"We got trapped here, just like you." Sora replied as Cloud arched an eyebrow.

"We?" he asked as Aqua approached.

"This is Aqua, my master." Sora replied as Aqua helped him up.

"I see. I wish it were under better circumstances though." Cloud said as everyone gave an extra nod of agreement.

"Yeah." Sora said semi-despairingly.

"Hey wait a minute; didn't you two say there was a fourth person? Where is he?" Aqua asked as Firion and Tina looked at each other.

"Well, he's not so much of a person as he is some kinda weird creature." Firion said as Tina blushed with little hearts in her eyes.

"He looks so cute, just like a moogle." Tina gushed.

"O-kay…so where is he?" Aqua asked. Cloud shrugged in response and moved to place his bandage wrapped buster sword onto his back.

"He was with me a moment ag- (Chomp)…-found him." Cloud said as he pulled the sword back around to in front of him, revealing a very familiar blue furred alien experiment holding onto Cloud's sword by its teeth.

"Stitch!-" "626!-"** "-It's you!"** Sora and Aqua said in unison before looking at each other curiously.

"**You know him? No way!" **They said in unison to each other before Stitch/626 let go and dropped to the floor and looked at the two in silent disbelief.

"Um, guys?" Tina asked.

"H-h-Hiiii." Stitch/626 said as the two looked down at him.

"Stitch, you remember me don't you?" Sora asked as Stitch nodded quickly before hopping onto Sora's chest, knocking him over in the process, and then licking his face with his distinct green slobber.

"Hey, what about me? You remember me, don't you, 626?" Aqua asked as Stitch looked up at her curiously.

"My name, Stitch." Stitch replied causing Aqua to pause in confusion.

"Stitch? Oh I guess, maybe you aren't the same guy. Though you do look a lot like him." Aqua said as Sora climbed to his feet.

"How similar are we talking?" Sora asked as Stitch leapt onto his back, peeking over Sora's shoulder at Aqua.

"Well, the only differences between, Stitch and 626 are that 626 had a pair of antennae, some strange spines on his back, and an extra set of arms. Stitch doesn't appear to have those." Aqua explained as Sora looked at Stitch curiously.

"Well, regardless, Stitch here's been a great deal of help to us. He's practically indestructible." Firion said as Tina nodded.

"And he's still so cute and fluffy!" Tina added as Sora chuckled.

"Yeah that's Stitch alright." Sora said as Stitch crawled around onto Sora's chest plate and looked at Aqua curiously before hopping down onto the floor. Aqua looked at him curiously before suddenly; Stitch instantly sprouted a pair of antennae, four strange spines on his back, and an extra set of arms. In the extra hands was a pair of yellow and orange guns of some sort.

"Wha-! 626! It really is you!" Aqua exclaimed as Stitch laughed and leapt into her arms. Sora then made the time out signal.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, time out! How do you know him exactly?" Sora asked, Aqua was about to explain when the light on the platform dimmed and the glowing white orb, floating in the center of the platform became filled with a dense, swirling, black fog.

"Uh-oh." Tina said worriedly as she tugged at her hair slightly.

"Here we go again." Firion said as he scowled at the orb. Cloud said nothing but he hefted his sword onto his shoulder.

"What's happening?" Sora asked as he and Aqua summoned their Keyblades. Stitch hopped off of Aqua and growled at the giant orb before an image of a familiar foe appeared within the orb.

"Ah, so you've finally come." Emperor Mateus said with a sneer as his voice echoed through the area.

"What do you want this time Emperor?" Firion asked angrily, fingering the sword at his side.

"Why, simply to welcome the newcomers, of course." Mateus said as Aqua and Sora both scowled up at him.

"We're not interested in your games, Mateus! We're not here for your amusement!" Aqua yelled at him.

"Be that as it may, you have no choice in the matter. You will participate in the games, regardless of your feelings on the matter." Mateus said before turning to the other four.

"Don't assume that I've forgotten about the rest of you worms. From this point on, you four shall be serving as the assistants to these two. Consider yourselves as involuntary summons of a sort." Mateus said, earning dark glares from the three.

"You can't hold us all forever, Emperor! We will get out eventually!" Firion snarled angrily up at the Emperor.

"Such spirit. I hope it serves you well. I've got a special surprise for the two of you though." Mateus said, looking square at Cloud and Tina.

"We're not afraid of whatever you send at us." Tina said bravely. Mateus smirked sinisterly at that.

"Oh?" he asked as his image faded out but the cloudy fog inside the sphere remained.

"Come back you coward! Come back and fight me!" Firion shouted before a high pitched voice started mocking…

"Aunty Em! Aunty Em! Please come back!" the voice said before Kefka appeared inside the sphere, causing Tina to start trembling and step back in shock before Kefka continued in his usual way, "Well hello there, my dear. It's most certainly been a long time since we've last seen one another. Did you miss me?"

"You!" Tina shouted in a mixture of anger and fear.

"You DO remember me! How delightful! Oh we are going to have so much fun together! It'll be just like old TIMES!" Kefka rejoiced.

"This, is why I don't like clowns." Sora muttered under his breath.

"Says the kid wearing clown shoes." Aqua muttered in response.

"You'll keep away from her, clown!" Cloud said with a hand on his sword.

"Why so serious? We haven't even started having fun yet! Oh! There's also someone here who wants to say hello to you Mister Chocobo-head!" Kefka said before his image slid away and was slowly replaced with an image of someone both Cloud and Sora recognized…

"Good to see you…Cloud." Sephiroth said with a smile.

"SEPHIROTH!" Cloud yelled as he raised his sword in anger.

"I've been looking forward to being able to deal with you in person. Too bad all I have to look forward to is a bunch of ignorant fools." Sephiroth said as Cloud growled.

"Then come and say it to my face!" Cloud yelled angrily.

"Gladly, but it will have to wait. I've got a deal to uphold first." Sephiroth said as he turned to look squarely at Sora.

"What kind of deal have you made, Sephiroth!" Firion asked as Sephiroth looked at the weapon master.

"You'll see, soon enough." Sephiroth said before vanishing into the foggy sphere and disappearing, only to be replaced by Judge Gabranth.

"The next rounds will begin soon. Make your final preparations." Gabranth said before disappearing into the fog. The fog then vanished and the room brightened up again.

"(Shudder), whoa, that Sephiroth guy sends chills down my spine." Aqua said as she scratched the back of her head nervously.

"You and me both." Firion said.

"Who was the clown guy?" Sora asked.

"Kefka Palazzo, an old friend of Tina's." Cloud said as Tina glared at him.

"He is no friend! He's an insane monster who wants to use my powers to destroy!" Tina replied.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"She said he was insane. I think that about sums it up." Aqua said with a shrug.

"Tina's a special case. She's got a boatload of magical power that she can hardly control. Kefka devised a way to take control of her and use her powers for his evil schemes. Unlike the Emperor, who wants to rule the worlds, Kefka wants to destroy them all. We don't pretend to understand why." Firion explained.

"So what do we do now?" Sora asked curiously.

"We get ready. Any second now, the Emperor is going to instantly teleport-…" Firion said but unfortunately Sora and Aqua had both unexpectedly vanished in a flash of light before he could finish.

"It looks like they're on their own now." Cloud said, looking upwards towards the orb.

"I hope they make it." Tina said as Cloud nodded in agreement. Without warning, the four of them vanished in flashes of light, leaving the entire space, empty.

* * *

**End Chapter 25.**

I do not own Firion, Terra "Tina" Branford, Cloud Strife, or Stitch/626. They are all owned by Square Enix and Disney respectively.


	26. Gambling with Fate & The Esperkin

Sora reappeared in a flash of light just like he had disappeared.

"(Groan) Aqua? Where are you?" Sora asked as he looked around curiously. He then paused as he recognized his surroundings.

"No! It can't be! How am I all the way here?" Sora asked as he realized that he was within the Castle that Never Was. Havoc's Divide, more specifically, the area he fought and defeated the Tenth member of Organization XIII. Suddenly another light appeared next to him, dropping Stitch in its place.

"Stitch! Are you okay?" Sora asked as Stitch hopped onto his hind legs.

"Ih." He replied with a nod.

"Okay, so…how did we get here?" Sora asked confused.

"It is the way of the Mirage Arena." Emperor Mateus's voice boomed as a massive semitransparent image of him floated up into view and proceeded to stare down at the two. Sora summoned his Keyblade and glared up at the tyrant.

"What do you mean?"Sora asked angrily as Mateus smirked.

"Why, didn't your 'master' explain the nature of the arena to you?" Mateus asked as Sora shook his head.

"No, she never had a chance to." Sora replied.

"I see. It's actually quite simple. As its name implies, Mirage Arena creates a mirage, a place familiar to the warrior within it that would suit the challenge ahead. In this case, I believe this is an apt location for your first opponent." Mateus explained as a glowing grey and black sphere appeared with a small deck of cards appearing inside. It was another Absent Silhouette and Sora recognized this one.

"Let the games begin." Mateus said with a sinister laugh before disappearing. Instantly the sphere exploded in an upward burst of black smoke like energy and then a swirling wall of giant playing cards appeared around it before sliding off into two opposite directions, revealing the smirking blond haired Gambler of Fate himself…Luxord.

Sora immediately felt a strange feeling, the same feeling he had felt when he first faced Luxord, the feeling of his time starting to dwindle down. Stitch growled at the Gambler of Fate and extended his extra arms with the blasters still in them. He aimed the guns at Luxord and fired immediately as Sora's helmet materialized on his head. Luxord didn't even flinch as the glowing green globs of energetic goo fired from Stitch's gun barreled towards him. Instantly a large playing card appeared between him and the glob, absorbing the attack like a shield.

Sora then charged forward, Keyblade raised but Luxord merely smirked and disappeared in another whirling circle of cards which then fell flat onto the ground, face down, and moving around erratically. Sora knew this game. He had to find which card was Luxord's card and attack it.

"Stitch! Don't move!" Sora ordered as Stitch did exactly as told. He watched the swirling cards for a moment before finally he chose one and attacked, however it was a decoy and it exploded in his face.

"That never happened the first time!" Sora yelped before he noticed the other cards had stopped moving and were shaking more and more erratically in place. Stitch quickly bolted forward and slammed into Sora, knocking both of them free from the resulting explosion.

"Whew, that was a close one. Thanks pal." Sora said as he leapt onto his feet. Luxord reappeared in a swirl of cards, arms crossed and a smirk across his face.

"He's playing dirty now! He's changed the rules! That means…I need a card of my own to play…and I've got just the one to deal with you Luxord! Someone who plays by his own rules!" Sora exclaimed as he fished into his pocket and raised a red pendant with a pair of chakrams on it. Immediately it started to glow with a fiery red aura before exploding in a burst of flames to reveal Axel in his Organization garb.

"HEEEEERREEEEESS AXEL!" Axel shouted with a grin as his chakrams appeared in hand.

"Axel!" Sora exclaimed as Axel grinned back at him.

"Heh, called me in to deal with an old friend eh? Heh, good call. Follow my lead. Hey Luxord! Time to cut the DECK!" Axel shouted as he, Sora, and Stitch leapt back into battle where Luxord disappeared again into the swirling deck.

From within an observation room within Mirage Arena, Mateus arched a curious eyebrow as he watched the fight between Sora, Axel, and Stitch, against Luxord.

"Hmm." Mateus said thoughtfully.

"Your eminence, isn't that against the rules?" Gabranth asked as Mateus continued watching the fight.

"The purpose of this first fight is for me to observe his fighting style. In retrospect I believe that the Gambler of Fate was not the best option. However, perhaps his next opponent might pose a greater challenge in the next round." Mateus said.

"And what of the fight right now?" Gabranth asked.

"Let them have this easy victory for now. Let them savor it and be lulled into this false sense of security so that it will be easier for us to crush him in the end." Mateus replied as Gabranth gave a respectful nod.

Back in the mirage of Havoc's Divide, Sora, Axel, and Stitch, clearly had the upper hand. Whenever Luxord would try one of his card games, Axel would quickly incinerate the cards, ending the game prematurely and leave Luxord open to attacks which Sora and Stitch would quickly follow through with.

"Hey you're fighting pretty well there little guy!" Axel said to Stitch after the latter ping-ponged off of Luxord's forehead with the force of a cannon ball.

"He's helped me out of a jam lots of times Axel!" Sora replied as Luxord summoned a number of large rolling dice onto the field, which started rolling down from the top to the bottom of the sloped platform.

"This is new!" Axel exclaimed as he hurled fireballs at the dice but to no avail. Stitch kept hopping up on top of them, kicking them out of the way of his comrades, laughing maniacally all the while.

"The little guy's insane!" Axel shouted. Sora however suddenly froze as he recalled an image of Stitch in a strange orange jumpsuit in his alien form, battling a giant grey shark like monster in a black jumpsuit. Sora immediately realized it was one of Ven's memories and that Ven and Stitch had both met before as well. At that, Sora smiled.

"Nope, he's a genius! He's got the brain of a supercomputer! He was originally programmed for destruction before he turned good! He could potentially bring total annihilation of civilization! He'd back up sewers, reverse street signs, and steal everyone's left shoe!" Sora exclaimed with a laugh.

"Also cute and FLUFFY!" Stitch shouted before he cannon balled into Luxord's chest, causing him to start staggering slightly and Sora could sense his (Luxord's) time was almost used up.

"Alright, now for the final blow!" Sora said as he leapt towards Luxord, his Keyblade glowing with a bright white aura before he drove the blade into the ground directly in front of the former tenth member. Suddenly the large mural like image from his old Trinity Limit sleight appeared on the ground spreading out from where the Keyblade touched the ground and instantly, massive columns of light erupted from the ground, causing Axel and Stitch to shield their eyes from the sheer power. Sora had learned his final Shoot Lock, the Trinity Drive.

The light finally faded, revealing Sora still in his armor and Luxord still standing before them. Luxord then dropped to his knees with a grunt with his fist raised towards Sora. He opened his fist, dropping a pair of dice on the ground. He glanced at the resulting throw and started turning transparent before finally disappearing. The resulting dice throw was a two, snake eyes.

"You know, that was easier than I thought it would be." Axel said as Sora's helmet disappeared again.

"Yeah. The past couple of battles have been easier for me. I guess it's because I'm getting stronger. Aqua says I'm getting close to reawakening Ven's heart and once it's awake, then I'll be a master and be able to restore him like I'm supposed to." Sora said, placing a hand on his chest.

"Well, good luck with that one buddy. I better get back to Twilight Town. Hayner says he's gonna show me the ropes at Struggle. I'm actually looking forward to it. See ya round Sora. Be sure to tell Roxas and the babe with the blue hair I said hello okay?" Axel said as he started glowing with the fiery red aura from before.

"I will Axel, and take care!" Sora said with a wave. Axel grinned and tapped the side of his forehead.

"Got it memorized?" he asked before disappearing in a burst of flames, leaving his pendant floating in midair where he stood. Sora quickly grabbed it and stuffed it back in his pocket.

"You fought pretty well yourself Stitch. Just like old times right?" Sora asked as Stitch leapt onto his chest and started licking him, causing Sora to laugh.

"Alright-alright! You know, did you ever meet a guy named Ven? Blond spiky hair, wielded a Keyblade kinda like me?" Sora asked as Stitch froze. He looked at Sora for a minute before hopping down onto the ground and looked back up at the Keyblade wielder.

"Ven…friend. Ven…Aqua…Terra…friends. Friends…Ohana." Stitch said slowly.

"Ohana?" Sora asked, confused.

"Ohana means family. Family means no one get's left behind, or forgotten. It's little…and broken…but still good. Yeah. Still good." Stitch explained.

"I know Stitch. I'm going to do what I can to help bring Aqua's family back together again." Sora said as the room faded out around them.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Aqua appeared in a beam of light within a large metal chamber with a strange assortment of glass tubes in alcoves all around.

"Odd. This place doesn't look familiar to me." Aqua said as she glanced around.

"It does to me." A voice said behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see…

"Tina!" Aqua yelped as Tina approached her, nervously wringing her hands as she looked around.

"Looks like we're going to be together in this fight." Tina said as she continued looking around.

"What is this place Tina?" Aqua asked.

"It's a place of darkness and death. It's where Kefka killed hundreds in my world. It's his tower." Tina explained. (A/N: For those who have played Final Fantasy Dissidia, imagine the Kefka's Tower arena.)

"So that means we're going to be facing that insane clown here huh?" Aqua asked as Tina nodded.

"Yes. We'll need to stop him here if we can. We just mustn't lose hope." Tina said as Aqua nodded.

"Hopes aren't worth DIRT!" a voice growled behind them, causing them both to jump and whirl around to see Kefka inside of one of the glass tubes.

"Kefka!" Aqua growled as her helmet and Keyblade appeared.

"I'm going to destroy…EVERYTHING!" Kefka declared as a burst of magic caused the glass tube to shatter.

"Back off you crazy clown!" Aqua ordered as Kefka hopped out of the remnants of the glass tube.

"Oh we are going to have so much fun together! I cannot wait to start!" Kefka said with insane glee.

"I cannot allow that! Now tell me where my apprentice is!" Aqua ordered as Kefka smirked at her.

"**HEE**-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!" He laughed, "I'm afraid the mouse is SMACK-!"

Aqua and Tina both gasped in horror before Kefka continued.

"-Dab in the middle of enemy territory! But you should have seen the looks on your faces!" Kefka laughed.

"Enough talk Kefka!" Aqua growled, causing Kefka to sigh in mock despair.

"(Sigh), I hate guys like you the most. You make moments like this seem so…so…BORING! So then we need something to spice it up a bit. I KNOW!" Kefka exclaimed before disappearing in a burst of smoke. Aqua and Tina looked around frantically for a moment before a strange looking crown appeared on Tina's head.

"Huh? Oh no! Aqua LOOK OUT!" Tina exclaimed before she turned and fired a Blizzaga blast at her. Aqua was caught off guard and knocked up against a nearby railing.

"Tina?" Aqua asked in disbelief.

"I can't stop myself! He's got control of me!" Tina cried as a long yet thin sword appeared in her right hand. Kefka then appeared behind her, dancing around with glee.

"Let the party BEGIN!" he shouted happily as Tina started glowing with a strange white energy from her abdomen.

"OH-NO! AQUA!" Tina cried out as the light started to envelope her.

"Tina! What's happening?" Aqua asked confused.

"She's nothing but a weapon! Her heart's been fused with those of a species native to our homeworld and as a result, she contains their great power and now I can use that power, to DESTROY! **HEE**-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!" Kefka laughed insanely as Tina let out a pained scream and was fully enveloped within the light. Aqua leapt to her feet and raised her Keyblade in a defensive posture just in time for a pink blur to slam into her and throw her across the room and through another glass tube. Fortunately the armor bore the brunt of the impact.

Aqua dropped down to the floor and looked up to see that Tina's body had sprouted pink fur and her hands had become large claws with talons on her feet. Her hair had also turned a matching shade of pink. Aqua looked at Tina in shock as Tina growled at her like a feral beast. Aqua could see in her eyes however, a look of pleading and remorse.

"I don't want to fight you Tina, but I am going to snap you out of this!" Aqua said as Tina launched towards her with a roar. Aqua quickly threw up a reflega shield, causing Tina to bounce off harmlessly and allowing Aqua time to leap up and deliver a painful downward blow to her side, sending her plummeting into a lower level filled with a strange assortment of pipes. Aqua flew down after her only to be hit by a round sphere of ice and knocked into the air.

"Tina! Come on snap out of it!" Aqua pleaded as she aimed her Keyblade at the feral Esperkin. Tina growled again and fired a wave of glowing white spheres of energy at the Keyblade Master. Aqua lunged to the right in midair, dodging the spheres and firing off the Rainbow Shower Shoot Lock simultaneously. The bolts hit Tina head on, followed by a second wave, and then a third before Tina started glowing with a red aura. Aqua landed on the ground and stared up at Tina before she launched a massive fireball, at least twice her own size, straight at Aqua. Aqua cartwheeled out of the way but the fireball bounced right off the flat surface and started bouncing around like a giant deadly ping-pong ball. Aqua quickly leapt over the railing and into the pipelined sublevel below just as the fireball crashed into where she was standing mere seconds ago and exploded. She could hear Kefka laughing maniacally above her.

"All this destruction is so EXCITING wouldn't you agree my dear?" Kefka asked maliciously as he leaned over the railing while staring at Aqua. He then tried to spit on her from over the edge.

"You disgust me Kefka!" Aqua yelled as she hurled a Firaga at him that nearly hit him head on had he not ducked back in time.

"Missed-me-missed-me-now-ya-gotta-kiss-me! **HEE**-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!" He chortled as he leaned back over the railing just as Tina darted down towards her opponent. Aqua stood her ground as Tina continued to charge for her. Just as it seemed Tina was about to grab her, Aqua used Magnega and leapt up into the air, bouncing off of Tina's back to force the Esperkin into the swirling Magnega. Aqua then turned and started unleashing a flurry of magic spells on her until she entered Magic Wish just as the Magnega dispersed.

"Alright, let's see how you handle this!" Aqua said challengingly as she barraged Tina with Blizzaga spells until Tina was frozen in place. Aqua used this opportunity to lunge forward and snap the crown off of Tina's head before smashing it on the ground, grinding it under her boot for emphasis. Almost instantly Tina reverted to normal and the ice melted around her.

"Huh? Is that it? I WANNA PLAY MORE!" Kefka whined before nearly getting hit by a Thundaga spell. Aqua was still in Magic Wish and she intended on using it up on the Mad Mage.

"Come here you!" Aqua shouted as she cast Magnega but Kefka leapt up and away, reappearing behind Aqua and firing throwing a small blue sphere that slowly hovered towards Aqua. Fortunately she had the sense to leap out of the way before it exploded in a colossal blast. Aqua landed on a platform on the opposite side of where Kefka stood, her Command Style finally exhausted.

"Augh! I hate-hate-hate-hate-HATE YOU! You've ruined my fun! Oh well, it doesn't matter! I can't say that I didn't have fun for a while." Kefka said with a contented sigh. Aqua glared at him from across the chasm between them.

"You really are mad aren't you?" Aqua asked as Kefka snorted.

"Oh? Well at least I'm not the one who is truly blind as to what's really going on!" Kefka said as Aqua arched a curious eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" Aqua asked as Kefka mockingly shrugged.

"But that would spoil all the FUN! You'll have to find out for yourself, my dear." Kefka said maliciously before vanishing in a Corridor of Darkness. Aqua looked down and saw that Tina was staggering around and was about to fall over when Aqua caught her.

"Easy there Tina, I've got ya." Aqua said as her helmet disappeared and she helped the poor woman lie down on her back.

"Aqua…I'm so sorry." Tina said weakly.

"It's okay. You couldn't control yourself. I understand." Aqua replied as Tina choked on a tear.

"You're too kind to me. I would never have meant to do you any harm. Now you know why I'm afraid of Kefka." Tina said as Aqua nodded.

"I do, but you can't let your fear of him prevent you from doing what must be done. One of these days, you'll have to face him personally and it'll rely on you to do what must be done. I have faith that your heart will see you through the battle." Aqua said as Tina smiled at her, neither of them noticing as the arena started fading out around them.

"Thank you, Aqua. You're a good friend." Tina said before resting her head back and falling asleep. Tina then disappeared in a flash of light as Aqua stood up. As she did though she was stunned at the new arena that had appeared. The new arena was a simple circular platform, not unlike the Station of Awakening but very noticeably different. It was a black arena with spots of red on the ground. On one side of the arena was a long flight of stairs that led down and on the other, sitting on a slight elevation was a hideous black stone throne with a large backrest adorned with carved skull-like images. It was like standing atop a tower in the middle of a volcanic wasteland. The sky was black with clouds and what she could see of the sky was a haunting blood red sky. Massive jagged swords, as large as the tower itself stood stuck in the ground at various angles. The smell of ash filled her nose and the soft rumbling of the volcanoes could be heard on the wind. The heat was also horridly bad.

"What…is this place?" Aqua asked with a mixture of awe and horror.

"It is known as the Edge of Madness." A voice behind her said. She whirled around with her Keyblade ready to see the dark armored Judge Gabranth climbing the steps towards the top of the platform. (A/N: Visual reference for the arena: Think the FF Dissidia level of the same name).

"You!" Aqua said as Gabranth came to a stop several feet before her, but with his swords at his sides.

"This is a facsimile of what the throne of the god Chaos looks like. I figured the terrain would be fair since there are no real advantages here to be had. It would offer a fair fight." Gabranth said as Aqua looked at him curiously.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Aqua asked as Gabranth coupled his swords together into a single double-blade and used his free hand to remove his helmet, revealing a man with very short yet slightly curled brown hair and a chiseled face. Gabranth then replied…

"My name is Judge Gabranth and I seek a fair fight."

* * *

**End Chapter 26.**

I'm using the Edge of Madness for Gabranth and Aqua's battle scene for two reasons. First, it's the level most associated with him in Dissidia, and second…I've never played Final Fantasy XII so I wouldn't know what his final battle arena would look like.


	27. Drive of the Heart & One Winged Angel

"A fair fight?" Aqua asked curiously. Gabranth nodded.

"Indeed. You needn't worry, I consider myself an honorable warrior." Gabranth said as Aqua looked at him skeptically.

"You'll excuse me if I don't believe you." Aqua said with a hand on her hip.

"If you insist. Before we begin our battle, I must ask. How are you able to continue your quest after all that you know has happened?" Gabranth asked as Aqua arched a curious eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"I refer to the knowledge that you have, albeit inadvertently, created Xehanort and indirectly caused countless worlds to descend into darkness." Gabranth asked as Aqua tightened her grip on her Keyblade.

"I didn't create Xehanort! I didn't cause any worlds to fall!" Aqua yelled angrily.

"But you did. You allowed Xehanort to escape being pulled into the realm of Darkness, sacrificing yourself for him. You allowed him to survive, and to perform his experiments on the heart, thus creating the Heartless and the Nobodies as well. You deliberately allowed him to survive and thus doomed the worlds to darkness as a result." Gabranth explained as Aqua looked shocked.

"I never saved Xehanort! I saved Terra! Despite what you may think, Terra's heart still remains within his body while Xehanort simply claimed it as his own! When I saved Terra, it was because Xehanort was trying to overwhelm Terra's heart with darkness, something which would have given him complete control of Terra's body! I only stopped him from succeeding. Xehanort would have gone unchallenged had he succeeded in subverting Terra and we wouldn't be having this conversation now!" Aqua said as Gabranth looked at her with a stoic glare.

"I suppose that is your reasoning then." Gabranth said, donning his helmet and taking his double-sword in both hands in a battle stance.

"Now then, let us commence with this battle." Gabranth said as Aqua's helmet appeared on her head and she dropped into her battle stance. (Battle Music Cue: Chaos-Last Battle 1 – Final Fantasy Dissidia)

"Shine your light upon my black blade." Gabranth said as Aqua aimed her Keyblade at him, attempting to use a Shoot Lock. Gabranth suddenly charged, separating his double-blade into the two individual swords as he ran. Aqua had to quickly leap into the air over him before landing and quickly spinning back around to block an attack from the Judge.

"Show me your hatred!" Gabranth said as they glared at each other through their helmets.

"You think that I fight with hatred?" Aqua asked as she lurched backwards, using Firaga Shield to force the judge back.

"There is no other way to fight!" Gabranth replied as he swung at her with a powerful gust of wind following after it that knocked her onto her back. Aqua quickly leapt at him, feet plowing into his chest and knocking him into the throne behind him.

"You're wrong! I don't fight with hatred!" Aqua replied as she hurled a Blizzaga at the judge who quickly rolled clear of the blast and coupled his swords together in one swift move. He then charged at her and swung the double-blade in a powerful sweep, causing her to jump over the blade then block with her Keyblade as the blade came back around towards her head.

"What of your hatred of Xehanort?" Gabranth asked before kicking the feet out from under her and attempting to run her through with the other end but she rolled out of the way less than a second before he stabbed the ground.

"Isn't that hatred what drives you?" Gabranth asked as Aqua started charging her Keyblade with energy.

"You don't get it do you?" Aqua asked back as Gabranth charged at her again but she instead unleashed the Shiny Bloom Shoot Lock, spinning around, firing off orbs of devastating magic power as the spinning became more and more elaborate. Gabranth leapt backwards out of the way but one magic orb hit the ground immediately in front of him, knocking him onto his back. Aqua came to a dead stop and simply glared at Gabranth from through her helmet.

"Hatred isn't what drives me!" Aqua said before Gabranth flipped over backwards on his hands, landing on his feet and separating his swords once again in a single move. He then started swinging across in front of him with each blade, creating four crescent shaped bursts of energy that headed straight for Aqua. She quickly used Reflega to absorb the attacks, Gabranth jumping clear before the bursts of light shot out from the sides.

"Hatred is what drives ME!" Gabranth said before landing and stabbing his two swords into the ground on either side of him before putting his hands together. Suddenly a long black beam of dark magic shot from his hands, tendrils lashing all around it as it fired. Aqua leapt clear of the beam and charged for him when the beam vanished. She attempted to attack with the Keyblade but his hands started to glow yellow before he delivered a quick punch to Aqua's face, followed by another, and ended by a final blow to the stomach, causing Aqua to be knocked back to the opposite side of the arena. Luckily the armor absorbed most of the damage but she was forced to dismiss it due to the damage it had taken.

"Take your last breath!" Gabranth said as his hands started to glow again. Suddenly a multitude of glowing yellow swords made of energy with red auras appeared all around and aimed at her. She quickly threw up a Reflega shield just in time as they crashed into the shield.

"Surrender now to OBLIVION!" Gabranth said as he grabbed his swords and made a scissor slice with them in midair towards her, creating a massive swirling vortex of darkness magic above her head. She could feel it trying to pull her in but she kept her ground. She then aimed her Keyblade at the vortex and fired a beam of blue energy into it, causing it to seal shut.

"What? How?" Gabranth asked as Aqua looked at him with a determined glare.

"I already told you. My drive isn't my hatred of Xehanort." She said before Gabranth attacked again, but she leapt out of the way and struck him with a Thundaga blast followed by a Blizzaga, then a Firaga. Finally she shunted the resulting energy in her heart into her Keyblade, entering the Magic Wish command style.

"My drive…" she said as she cast Magnega and trapped the judge in the swirling purple spell. She then started casting Thundaga repeatedly before casting Magnega again to keep him pinned down, shunting the resulting power into her Keyblade and entering the Ghost Drive command style. Almost instantly Gabranth found himself overwhelmed by a number of lightning fast attacks from the Keyblade Master. Once she finished he dropped to his knees and then onto his chest in pain, his helmet falling off his head as he fell. (End music.)

"My drive…my drive is love. Love for my friends. Terra, Ven, Sora…they're my friends, and I love and care for them far more than I hate Xehanort. It's my desire to make Sora a master, restore Ven, and free Terra of Xehanort's influence that drives me." Aqua said as Gabranth slowly pushed himself off the ground. He attempted to reach for his swords but Aqua kicked them out of his reach and held the point of her Keyblade to his chin.

"It seems…" Gabranth said as he pulled himself up onto one knee, "…that there is a greater drive than hatred after all."

"My master used to tell me that, there are two types of hatred, the hatred in your mind, and the hatred in your heart. The hatred of your mind, blinds you to reason but can be dispelled but the hatred of your heart will consume you. Letting go of both will redeem you." Aqua explained as Gabranth looked at her with a look of wonder.

"Redemption? I never believed myself capable of redemption." Gabranth said as Aqua dismissed her Keyblade and knelt down to his level.

"My master would say that no one is incapable of redemption, that they need only a second chance." Aqua said as Gabranth looked at her in wonder again.

"Even Xehanort?" Gabranth asked as Aqua pondered.

"Well…I guess there is the odd exception, but you are definitely not an exception." Aqua said as she extended a hand to the wounded man. He accepted her hand and together they climbed to their feet.

"I thank you for your wisdom, Master Aqua of the Keyblade. You have given me much to consider." Gabranth said as he placed his helmet back on his head. Aqua placed a hand on her shoulder guard and her armor, sans-helmet, reappeared.

"I pray, that when your death finally comes, that you rest a little more peacefully in knowing the peace you will have brought to mine." Gabranth said as he took up his swords, sheathing them, and then bowing to her in respect before turning and looking skyward as a beam of light appeared at his feet before he disappeared, leaving Aqua alone as the arena faded away.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Sora and Stitch were sitting in total darkness. They could see each other just fine, but the arena was pitch black.

"Sure is quiet around here." Sora said as he sat on the floor, Stitch sitting next to him.

"Ih." Stitch said, picking his nose with his tongue and eating the booger.

"Eww, Stitch." Sora cringed as Stitch laughed with delight before suddenly vanishing in a flash of light.

"Huh? STITCH!" Sora exclaimed. He leapt to his feet, looking around frantically before he suddenly heard what sounded like rushing wind. He could also feel it too. Suddenly a massive wall of flowing green energy erupted upwards from all around him, reaching far up into the air and disappearing into the blackness. The ground beneath him began to tremble and suddenly massive chunks of it ripped free along with large vertical rectangular pillars that rocketed up into the air before finally stopping and hovered in place.

"What world is this supposed to be?" Sora asked confused as he looked around overhead, taking a step forward but he didn't realize that he had just stepped off the edge of one of the many platform-like chunks of rock and subsequently he started to tumble down towards a central platform at the lowest point in the center of the new arena. He managed to stop his aimless tumbling and started flying face first towards the central platform. Suddenly his Keyblade summoned itself, confusing him for a moment until he saw a lone black figure right where he was headed.

"HEADS UP!" Sora shouted as he held the Keyblade up in front of him but the figure didn't budge. He clinched his eyes shut just before impact.

**CLANG!**

He didn't move, still maintaining the same position as he had when falling, feet hanging over his head as if he were perfectly balanced on something.

"Well-well. Isn't this a surprise." A hauntingly familiar calm voice said. Sora's eyes snapped open and he saw, staring up at him from below was a pair of calm yet piercing green cat-like eyes attached to a head of long silver hair. Quick as a flash Sora found himself launched upwards, his helmet quickly forming on his head before eight lightning fast blows landed against his armor plating, the final one knocking him hard into the ground. He looked up to see none other than the One-Winged Angel himself staring at him with his chilling smile on his lips. (Battle music cue: One winged angel, preferably the Advent Children version)

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sephiroth asked smoothly.

"Sephiroth!" Sora exclaimed as he dropped into his battle stance.

"I don't believe I caught your name the last time we did battle, though it's not like it matters anyway." Sephiroth said as he aimed the tip of the Masamune at Sora who didn't dare budge or say anything.

"You asked what this world was. This is the world that Cloud and I both come from. This is where we did battle once, a long time ago, on a different planet far from this one. I had hoped it would be Cloud that I would be facing, but as I remember, you'll do well enough." Sephiroth said as he dropped into a battle stance.

"Show me your strength." Sephiroth said before he charged at Sora with a flurry of attacks so fast the naked eye couldn't see them. Luckily Sora remembered the move from their first encounter and was able to block each of the blows. Sephiroth then spun around and swung his sword at Sora with his infamous Octaslash attack but Sora managed to block each blow.

"You're skill hasn't improved much." Sephiroth said before he took a single swing of his sword, though in reality he had made a countless number of swings in less than a millisecond and only streaks of light remained where the blade flew. The attack caught Sora by surprise, knocking him up into the air. Sephiroth quickly leapt up and chased after him.

"I've thought of a wonderful gift for you…" Sephiroth said as he took a swing with his sword and nearly hit Sora had the latter not dodged and landed on a platform. Sephiroth landed on the side of one of the platforms overhead with a smirk as he stood perfectly normal as if gravity were nothing. He suddenly launched towards Sora again, blade raised in front of him. Sora quickly blocked the blow but the sheer force of the attack shattered the platform beneath Sora's feet, causing them both to fall towards the central platform.

"…Shall I give you despair?" Sephiroth asked before knocking Sora towards the ground with a single violent swing. Sora crashed into the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. Sephiroth flew in for a final blow but just as he swung down, Masamune met Keyblade as Sora blocked the blow again. This time Sora launched him away. Sephiroth froze in midair with a curious smile on his face.

"Oh, where did we find this strength?" Sephiroth asked before Sora leapt to his feet and hurled a Firaga at the One-Winged Angel which hit him head on though had no noticeable effect.

"That's no good." Sephiroth said with a chuckle. He was suddenly hit by a Blizzaga and a Thundaga in close succession.

"That's enough." Sephiroth said before raising his hand, causing four purple spheres of dark magic to appear around Sora. However Sora had counted on it and quickly used Reflega to block the spheres. Sephiroth paused as he realized the reflega sphere wasn't disappearing but Sora knew why. He had activated his unique tier one Command Style again, Destiny Blitz. Sora leapt up at Sephiroth, Keyblade reared back and glowing. He then swung forward, releasing two spells at one time, Firaga and Thundaga.

"This is new." Sephiroth said as he batted away both attacks but Sora fired two more. Batted away again. Then two more. Again batted away. Finally Sora's Keyblade and Sephiroth's Masamune clashed together once more but this time it was Sora who was batted away. He crashed through one of the pillars before Sephiroth caught up with him and knocked him upwards towards the black and empty ceiling overhead. Sephiroth reappeared over Sora and took a vicious swing at him but once again Sora blocked. The two crashed into the ground, Sora's armor bearing the brunt of the impact. Sora's armor disappeared into the shoulder piece, leaving him with only his Keyblade in hand. At that, Sephiroth's smirk widened.

"Tell me what you cherish most…" He said, pushing down on his sword that budged closer to Sora despite the Reflega shield around him, "…give me the pleasure of taking it away."

Sora grunted under the strain but he managed to shove Sephiroth off and fire another Firaga and Thundaga at him but Sephiroth once more batted it away.

"You never learn, do you?" Sephiroth asked but Sora said nothing, as the reflega sphere started shrinking in and around his Keyblade, earning a curious look from Sephiroth.

"You're wrong, Sephiroth. I do learn. And I just learned this." Sora said as his Keyblade became enveloped by a single pure and crisp white beam of light and enveloped Sora in a matching radiant aura. It was his unique tier two command style, Light of the Worlds.

"That's enough!" Sephiroth said, his smile gone, as he lunged at Sora. Before Sephiroth could even follow through with the attack, Sora had blocked with only one hand on the Keyblade. Quicker than he could react, Sephiroth found himself launched into the air followed closely by Sora, light streaming from him like a comet flying through space. Behind him, a crown shaped insignia appeared in midair and he aimed his Keyblade at the one-winged angel, causing a crisp white circle of light to form around the tip before firing off a single large beam of light from the tip like he were locking a keyhole but this time Sephiroth was caught in the beam. The second the beam hit him, the arena was bathed in a blinding white light and when it faded, Sephiroth was plummeting to the ground where he landed with a thud. (End music)

Sora floated down to the ground as the light faded from around him, his Command Style's energy expended. Sephiroth climbed to his feet slowly, his back turned to Sora and sword in hand.

"So…you have grown stronger. I'm impressed…" Sephiroth said calmly as Sora remained silent, Keyblade still ready to strike if necessary.

"…But…I'm not surprised." Sephiroth said as he turned and with a single swing, launched three waves of blue energy at Sora but fortunately the boy managed to block each one as Sephiroth leapt into the air with his hands outstretched to his sides.

"Descend, Heartless Angel." Sephiroth said before Sora could react and instantly Sora felt his strength and power get sapped from him and he had nothing to replenish it with. He fell to his knees in pain as Sephiroth landed before him on his feet.

"You may have a bright future ahead of you, but there will still be despair. You'll see what I mean soon enough." Sephiroth said before he stepped back and disappeared in a beam of blue light, leaving a confused and injured Sora behind as the arena faded out again. This time however, he wasn't alone.

"Sora? SORA!" Aqua exclaimed as she saw him appear and raced to his side.

"What happened to you?" She asked as she quickly cast Curaga on him.

"That Sephiroth guy…he was my opponent. But…he let me live, and told me something strange." Sora said as Aqua looked at him worriedly.

"Odd. What did he say?" she asked.

"He said that I might have a bright future ahead, but that there would still be despair and that I would see what he meant soon." Sora said as Aqua tapped her chin, her mind flashing back to Kefka's final words to her before disappearing.

"I don't like the sound of that. I was told that I was truly blind to what was really going on by that Kefka guy. At first I thought he was just being insane but now I'm wondering if he was serious about this after all." Aqua said as she helped Sora up.

"Yeah…but I'm confused about something else too." Sora said as Aqua arched an eyebrow.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Why did Sephiroth spare me? He had me beaten and he didn't kill me." Sora asked as Aqua looked confused.

"I dunno, but whatever his reasons, there must be some kind of underlying reason behind it all." Aqua said as she glanced around the blackened arena and a familiar chill ran down her spine. Little did she realize that she couldn't have been further from the truth.

* * *

**End Chapter 27.**

By now, Sora has learned all of his Command Styles and Shoot Locks. They are as follows…

Tier 1 Unique Command Style: Destiny Blitz (learned in Chapter 15)

Tier 2 Command Styles: Light of the Worlds (Unique, learned in chapter 27), Light of the Heart (Shared with Kairi, learned in chapter 15), and Light of the Night (Shared with Riku, learned in chapter 12)

Shoot Locks: Ragnarok Ultima (learned in chapter 23), Trinity Drive (learned in chapter 26), and Thirteenth Strike (learned in chapter 21)


	28. Heartless Emperor

Inside his secret room within Mirage Arena, the Emperor was livid. Gabranth had deserted him, Kefka had been beaten by the Keyblade Master, and Sephiroth had beaten Sora but neglected to finish him off. His secret room was a large room with pink hexagonal tiles lining the walls with a few purple bricks at some of the corners. The floor was made mostly of a deep blue hexagonal tile in some places but mostly was a set of bricks of a matching color, though these bricks were deceiving. (A/N: Think the Pandemonium level in Dissidia)

"What is going on? I demand to know what is happening!" Mateus bellowed into the empty room.

"I'll bet you do." A voice said from nearby that made Mateus freeze in silent and unseen disbelief. He knew who was behind him.

"Why, Lord Xehanort. What brings you here?" Mateus asked as Xehanort walked past him, hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh you know why I'm here." Xehanort said slowly as he stopped.

"The Keyblade warriors are here, although they seem to be much stronger than I first expected." Mateus said as Xehanort smirked.

"I predicted as such, but for once, they are not why I'm here." Xehanort said as he slowly turned towards the Emperor with a dark smile.

"Oh? And what is your reason for coming here?" Mateus asked as Xehanort smiled at him and raised a hand. He then snapped his fingers. Almost instantly Sephiroth dropped down from above with his sword raised towards the Emperor.

"What is THIS? Is this a BETRAYAL?" Mateus asked as Xehanort laughed.

"Actually, you were the one scheming on betraying me first. Did you really think I was oblivious to your plans, Emperor? I consider this as merely, getting rid of the competition." Xehanort said before Sephiroth stabbed the Emperor through the chest, causing the traitorous Mateus to let out an agonized…

"UNGAAAAAH!"

"Now then, Emperor, let us see how truly useful you are to me…as a HEARTLESS!" Xehanort said as he placed a hand on Xehanort's blade, causing a powerful stream of black snakelike energy to pour into the Masamune and towards Mateus's chest. As the darkness began to overwhelm him, Mateus lifted his hand and with a single wave, brought all of the warriors of light into the room. Tina was still asleep from her battle with Aqua though.

"Xehanort!" Aqua and Sora yelped in surprise as soon as they noticed the lord of the Heartless standing before them.

"Oh, bold move Mateus. Pity it was your last as a man with a heart, albeit a dark one." Xehanort said before turning to the two Keyblade wielders. Sephiroth even pulled the Masamune from Mateus's chest and turned to face the others.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled as he raised his sword.

"I hold your end of the bargain fulfilled Sephiroth, and I have fulfilled mine. Strife is yours." Xehanort said as Sephiroth's smirk returned.

"Good to see you…Cloud." Sephiroth said before he and Cloud leapt into battle with each other, though fortunately the battle quickly moved away from the others. Firion then noticed the Emperor's limp form, surrounded by a slowly increasing swirling black mist.

"The Emperor! What's happening to him? What have you done?" Firion asked as Xehanort chuckled.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat a while, I'm afraid I have other matters to attend to. But don't worry, Mateus here will be happy to deal with you as soon as I'm gone." Xehanort said as a Corridor of Darkness started to form behind him. He then looked at Aqua and Sora.

"I'll be seeing you two later." He said before letting loose an evil laugh and backing into the Corridor of Darkness and disappearing. The Corridor soon closed as well.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Aqua said as Sora nodded and instinctively activated his armor, again sans-helmet.

"Tina? Come on Tina wake up!" Firion said as he tried to shake the Esperkin awake but to no avail.

"She's too exhausted from earlier. There's no time to explain though." Aqua said as Sora turned to Stitch.

"Stitch, take care of Tina okay!" Sora said as Stitch nodded frantically before picking up the sleeping beauty over his head and running off. They then heard the Emperor let out an agonized yell and they turned back to see a number of shadow heartless gathering around him and swarming up onto him.

"What are they doing?" Firion asked.

"I have no idea." Aqua replied as they backed away. Suddenly in a burst of black energy, the Emperor's face became covered in a hideous snarling black mask with piercing yellow eyes and black snake like hair. (A/N: His Dissidia EX Mode. Check the Final Fantasy Wiki if you're not sure what I mean).

"That's not good!" Sora said as the Heartless Emperor roared with fury and instantly the blue brick tiling on the floor turned black with red outlines of the bricks.

"Definitely not good!" Aqua added as both hers and Sora's helmets appeared on their heads.

"Don't step on the bricks!" Firion shouted as he knocked an arrow into his bow, causing a swirling white and green energy to appear before he fired, but the Emperor dodged the attack and instead hurled a giant floating blue fireball towards them, although it moved slowly but continued moving. The three quickly leapt clear of the flare but it continued following them, homing in on Sora.

"Which one of us is he after?" Aqua asked as she hurled a Blizzaga at the flare, detonating it safely.

"I don't think he has a specific target!" Firion replied as the Emperor raised his scepter, moving the tip of it around with a purple glow, creating a large square shaped purple symbol in the air. Suddenly five glowing bolts of purple energy shot from within the symbol, headed straight for the three of them. Aqua and Sora quickly used Reflega while Firion summoned a simple wall of hexagonal energy tiles. The bolts impacted harmlessly against the defenses. The Emperor then lunged at them with an enraged roar and his scepter raised. The three leapt out of the way before the Emperor swung at them with the end of the scepter. Sora then leapt up and charged at him, firing off a stream of Firaga spells at the Emperor, finishing up with a Firaga shield that caused the Emperor to stagger backwards. The Emperor attempted to take another swing at Sora but as he swung his scepter, it hit Sora's Keyblade but this time the Keyblade was engulfed in flames. Sora had entered the Fire Blazer Command Style. Every time Sora swung the Keyblade, it let off a small explosion of flames that caused the Emperor to back away. The Emperor suddenly did something unexpected and moved his scepter over the ground, creating a strange glowing blue circular symbol on the ground that moved under Sora's feet.

"SORA! IT'S A TRAP!" Firion shouted but it was too late. Sora was hit by several powerful bolts of lightning from the symbol before getting launched into the air and crashing down onto the ground, smoke coming from the openings in his armor.

"SORA!" Aqua shouted in horror as she witnessed her apprentice get knocked out by the attack.

"Aqua!" Firion shouted. She spun her head back around to see the Emperor raising his scepter and pointing it at her. A swirling golden orb of magic started to form at the tip of the scepter, quickly growing before it flew straight at her. She leapt up and out of the way just in time as the orb exploded shortly after it hit the wall.

"Thanks." Aqua replied as she landed next to Firion.

"We've got to end this! We can't let the Emperor win!" Firion said determinedly.

"You got anything in mind?" Aqua asked as Firion nodded.

"Yeah. It'll take a second though. Think you can distract him long enough?" Firion asked as Aqua nodded and leapt into battle. Firion then started to glow with a bright cyan hued aura as his weapons started to slowly glow with the same aura and start to swirl around him. Aqua started hitting the Emperor with various magic attacks until she entered Magic Wish. She then started bashing the Emperor almost relentlessly until finally her Keyblade transformed into the giant glowing sword blade of the Blade Charge Command Style. Aqua then attempted to attack the Emperor again but just as she charged at him, he thrust his scepter forward and created a strange floating purple object. Aqua crashed into it, only for it to explode and launch her back some distance.

"Firion! I hope you're ALMOST **READY!**" Aqua shouted as she looked over at Firion who was still meditating. She looked back up to see the Emperor about to draw the lightning symbol on the ground again but suddenly something slammed into him, knocking him back. Aqua was much relieved to see it was Sora, but something was different. His armor had changed colors. Instead of the red, black, and blue, it was now a steel blue, black, and gold.

"Sora! You're okay!" Aqua said with a relieved smile, until she noticed he was holding his Keyblade in a reversed grip. The helmet then disappeared, revealing a familiar spiky haired blond within.

"Ven?" She asked in a surprised whisper. Ven only looked over his shoulder at her with a grin before turning back as the helmet reappeared. The Emperor had recovered now and had raised his scepter over his head, spinning it like a helicopter blade. As he did this he started emitting a glow and a large purple hued circular symbol appeared on the ground around him. Almost instantly a small swarm of Neoshadow Heartless appeared within the symbol. Ven quickly leapt into action, attacking the heartless with his Keyblade in rapid succession as Aqua watched in shock, especially when she realized that, upon looking around, Sora was nowhere to be seen.

"Sora?" Aqua asked in surprise as she realized that it wasn't really Ven she was seeing, but actually Ven in Sora's body. Ven/Sora suddenly started glowing with a white aura before leaping into the air and attacking with the Keyblade from overhead. Aqua recognized this as Ven's unique command style, Speed Rave, cutting through dozens of Heartless. Aqua quickly leapt up and joined in the battle, eventually reactivating Magic Wish but the Heartless kept on coming and the glow around the Emperor was getting more and more noticeable and the room was starting to shake with increasing violence.

Finally Sora/Ven turned towards Aqua, reaching out his hand. Aqua took a hold of it and they both entered the one Command Style that both Aqua and Ven shared…Air Rider. They both started floating above the ground, delivering lightning fast blows to the Heartless until finally they both had eradicated the heartless. They turned to the Emperor who roared in fury. Before he could make a move they heard Firion say…

"There is no meaning in strength used only to hurt others…" Firion said as he started to stand to his feet with a powerful aura around him, catching the Emperor's attention. Firion's weapons were spinning around over his head at a fast rate before he locked his eyes on the Heartless Emperor.

"…I have dreams! Dreams worth DYING **FOR!**" Firion shouted before his weapons all launched themselves towards the Emperor in a swirling vortex of powerful energy.

"This decides it!" Firion shouted as he recalled his weapons. He then leapt at the Emperor, attacking with each of his weapons, shouting as he used them…

"Lance! Slash! Shatter! Shoot! Sword! It's THE **END!**" Firion shouted as he knocked five glowing red arrows into his bow and fired them all at Mateus, resulting in a massive explosion. The Emperor screamed in a mixture of fury and pain with a final…

"**UNGAAAAAH!"**

And with that the Emperor burst open, releasing a glowing pink heart which soon faded away. Aqua and Ven/Sora watched in awe until the remainders of their Command Styles wore off. Suddenly Ven/Sora collapsed onto his back.

"Ven!" Aqua exclaimed as she turned and knelt down next to her apprentice. The helmet disappeared on Ven/Sora's armor, revealing only Sora underneath. She then noticed that Sora's colors had returned to his armor as well.

"Something wrong?" Firion asked as he approached.

"It's Sora. He's so close to finally becoming a master." Aqua said with a proud smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Is there anything I can do?" Firion asked, neither of them noticing as Tina and Stitch approached from behind.

"Afraid not. But he'll be fine. We just need to finish up his training is all." Aqua said as she stood up, her helmet disappearing.

"So what do we do now?" Tina asked as everyone turned to her.

"We've won a great victory. We've defeated the Emperor and freed ourselves from this prison." Firion said as he looked around the room.

"Uh, where's Cloud? Wasn't he battling Sephiroth?" Aqua asked.

"Looks like they've disappeared still locked in battle once more. We'll go and search for him. When we find him we'll bring him to Radiant Garden." Firion said as Sora groaned.

"What-…-what happened?" Sora asked as he climbed to his feet, with help from Aqua.

"I'll explain on the way." Aqua said with a smile. They then noticed that they were back in the main room they had all met in earlier.

"I guess this is goodbye for now." Tina said as Aqua and Sora both nodded.

"Afraid so. But it's been an honor knowing each of you." Aqua said as Firion and Tina both smiled and nodded.

"Likewise." Firion said before Stitch hopped forward to the two Keyblade warriors who knelt down to his level.

"Stitch say goodbye?" Stitch asked before Sora and Aqua pulled him into a group hug.

"Take care of yourself little guy." Sora said as Stitch gave him a lick on the cheek and then gave Aqua one too before hopping back and climbing up onto Tina's back.

"See you guys later." Sora said as both his and Aqua's helmets appeared on their heads and they summoned their Keyblade Riders.

"Oh hey, I almost forgot. How are the three of you getting back?" Aqua asked as Firion and Tina both looked at Stitch. Stitch reached into his mouth and pulled out a set of car keys. He pressed a button on the remote and they heard the "Blip-blip" of a car alarm before a large red gummy ship with a white stripe down the center appeared hovering overhead.

"Oh…he took the red one." Aqua said in awe.

"Nice ride." Sora said as Firion and Tina climbed in with Stitch at the controls.

"ALOHA!" Stitch shouted with a maniacal cackle before the gummy ship screamed into the distance.

"You think they'll make it in one piece?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Stitch is driving. They'll be fine." Sora said as the two set off on their Keyblade Riders into the night sky.

"So…what was it that happened to me Master? What happened during the battle?" Sora asked as Aqua looked at him for a second.

"Well…tell me what you remember first." Aqua said as Sora thought for a moment.

"I remember getting hit by the Emperor's attack and falling unconscious…I think I even dreamt something too." Sora said as Aqua shook her head.

"You don't dream when you're unconscious, Sora." Aqua said as Sora pondered.

"But it felt like a dream. Like I was walking around in my own body but…I wasn't the one in control." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"You weren't." Aqua said as Sora looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"You weren't in control. Ven was controlling you." Aqua said as Sora stopped mid-flight, causing Aqua to stop and turn around towards him.

"Ven was…controlling me?" Sora asked as Aqua nodded.

"Indeed he was. His heart is very close to awakening completely within you. I can feel the power within your own heart, Sora. You are very close to becoming a Master. But…" Aqua said, earning a concerned, though unseen look from Sora due to the helmets.

"But?" Sora asked worriedly.

"But there is one small problem I probably should mention." Aqua said as Sora cocked his head to one side.

"What?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed.

"Once Ven's heart is ready…it won't matter. I don't know what to do." Aqua said.

"That's easy; we restore Ven's heart to him." Sora replied.

"How? How do we do that Sora? Do you know how? Because I…I just don't." Aqua said despairingly. They hovered in the void for a while in silence.

"What ever happened to your old master?" Sora asked, earning a look from Aqua.

"He died at Xehanort's hands." She said mournfully.

"What would he do if he were in our position?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged.

"I don't know. I just wish that we could find a way to ask him personally." Aqua said with another sigh. They then heard something, a distant rumble like thunder. They turned to see a massive multicolored storm cloud barreling towards them.

"Uh-oh!" Aqua yelped as she and Sora quickly rocketed off through space again in an effort to escape the cloud.

"What is that?" Sora asked as he looked over his shoulder only to notice that the storm was actually gaining on them.

"I don't know! Just keep flying!" Aqua replied. Suddenly they found themselves surrounded by the cloud itself but they could still see the star filled sky before them.

"Aqua! What's happening?" Sora asked as large glowing green ribbon like tendrils started snaking in and around them. Aqua didn't have a chance to respond as the cloud overtook them and they were both blinded by a bright white flash of light. When they opened their eyes they were stunned at what they saw.

"What the-…where are we?" Aqua asked as Sora shrugged.

"I dunno. I've never been here before." Sora replied. The land around them was a vast and seemingly endless range of grass covered hills, some of them covered in flowers of different sorts. Sora and Aqua were standing on a dirt covered pathway that led to nowhere in particular. Their Keyblade Riders and armor had disappeared except for their shoulder pieces.

"Did that storm send us here or something?" Aqua asked.

"It may have." Sora said as they started walking down the path. They remained on the path until they passed a large tree with a large grey stone rock shaped like a large letter L. Sora recognized it.

"Hey, it kinda looks like Pride Rock." Sora said as they both came to a stop.

"Where?" Aqua asked.

"Nice place. You get transformed into a Lion there but that gets itchy. It's a good story. It's ruled by a king Lion, named Simba." Sora said.

"Simba?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah. He helped me out during my first adventure and then I helped him reclaim his throne during my second adventure." Sora said as Aqua smiled then froze with her Keyblade summoned.

"Sora…don't make any sudden movements." She said as Sora froze.

"What is it." He asked trough clinched teeth. He then heard a soft guttural growl and felt something breathing on his neck.

"I heard you mention the name Simba." A deep and powerful bass voice said. Aqua was caught off guard.

"You talk?" Aqua asked before Sora leapt up and next to his master but froze when he saw what it was behind him. It was a large male lion with a majestic red mane.

"What the-? Simba! It's you!" Sora exclaimed as the lion shook his head.

"No, Simba is my son. I am his father. My name is Mufasa." The lion replied.

* * *

**End Chapter 28.**

What is this world that they have come to? Find out in the next chapter. I do not own Mufasa.


	29. Those Once Forgotten

"Mufasa? I thought Simba said you were dead." Sora said as Mufasa glanced away with a somber expression.

"Uh Sora…" Aqua said as realization swept Sora's face.

"Wait…WE'RE DEAD?" Sora asked as he started feeling himself all over.

"No! You are not dead." Mufasa said with an amused yet booming laugh.

"We're not?" Aqua asked as Mufasa laughed again.

"No. You two are both still on that path aren't you? That path designates who is, and who isn't still alive." Mufasa said as Aqua figured it out.

"So…Sora and I are alive…but you're not?" Aqua asked as Mufasa nodded.

"Yes." He replied.

"Oh that makes sense." Sora said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Then…what is this place?" Aqua asked confused.

"This is the Road of Remembrance. It is where all those of pure hearts go when they die." Mufasa answered.

"How did we end up here?" Sora asked.

"Probably that storm. But it makes no sense. Why are we here if we're not dead?" Aqua asked as Mufasa started walking alongside the road away from them.

"You were meant to come here for a reason. Come. There are people who wishes to speak with both of you." Mufasa said as the two Keyblade wielders shrugged and followed after him on the path. As they walked they came across a fork in the road.

"Which way do we go?" Aqua asked as Mufasa leapt over the road to the point where the road split.

"You must take both paths. Sora must take the right, and you must take the left." Mufasa said as Aqua scratched her head confused.

"What for?" Aqua asked.

"There are people on both roads that wish to speak with the two of you. Both roads will meet up again." Mufasa said as Sora and Aqua looked at each other again and shrugged.

"Okay. Sora, be careful." Aqua said before she departed down her road. Sora started walking down his road silently, looking around as he walked but taking care to remain on the path. Both leaving Mufasa at the fork.

On Aqua's side of the road, she kept walking along until she saw something. Off to the left side of the road was a large tree that hung out over the road. She was about to pass it by when she suddenly noticed that the road stopped in a large turnaround circle.

"Hey, what gives?" She asked as she stepped into the turnaround and then turned back only to notice that the road behind her had vanished.

"What is going on here?" She asked.

"Perhaps if you turned around for a moment, you'll see the reason why you are here." A voice said that made Aqua freeze in shock. She knew the voice.

"It can't be." She whispered as she turned around and saw one person she never imagined she would ever see again, standing in the shade of the tree.

"It's good to see you again Aqua. I'm sorry it has to be like this." The voice said as a tear ran down Aqua's face.

"Master Eraqus." She whispered in shock.

* * *

**On Sora's road…**

Sora kept on walking until he saw a man standing in the grass, repetitively doing something strange. He was a tall man, with long black spiky hair, similar to Axel's in a way. He wore a black uniform with matching gloves, boots, and a large buster sword on his back similar to Cloud's original except without the bandages. The man was repeatedly squatting down then standing back up before squatting down again and standing up again, letting his arms swing freely at his sides as he did so.

"Um, excuse me?" Sora asked as the man stopped and ran a hand through his hair as he caught his breath, checking his pulse at the neck before turning towards Sora. He was young in appearance but his sky-blue eyes had an unnatural glow to them, also like Cloud.

"Oh hey! Glad to see ya! I've been waiting for ya to get here." The man said with a friendly smile.

"Um…have we met? You look familiar." Sora said as the man chuckled.

"Well you haven't met me Sora, but Ven sure did." The man said, catching Sora off guard.

"Huh? What do you mean? How do you know my name?" Sora asked as the man laughed again.

"Relax buddy I'm not an enemy. I'm a friend. Search Ventus's memories and you'll see that he and I know each other." The man said as Sora closed his eyes and thought hard. Almost instantly a flood of memories appeared in his mind and he saw a much younger man, about his age with the same black hair and eyes, but wearing a blue version of the same uniform and carrying a simple broadsword. A single name came to him.

"Zack?" Sora asked curiously as the man crossed his arms with a grin.

"That's my name! See I knew Ven wouldn't forget me." Zack replied.

"W-wait a minute! How did you die? You were supposed to become a hero!" Sora exclaimed, having instantly relived Ven's memories as Zack motioned to slow down.

"Whoa there Sora. I'll have you know that I did become a hero. I just…well I'm here so you know how I ended up. You and I actually have a mutual acquaintance though. You know Cloud, right?" Zack asked as Sora nodded.

"He's a friend of yours?" Sora asked as Zack nodded.

"Yep. Took my old sword when I died. Then he lost it and looky here, I've got it back again." Zack said as he drew the large buster sword, driving it into the ground next to him before leaning against it.

"I thought that sword looked familiar. But didn't it have bandages on it?" Sora asked as Zack shrugged.

"Ah that's just Cloud's mopey style. I dunno why he does it. But anyway, I digress, let's get moving shall we? There are other people who want to meet ya." Zack said as he pulled the sword from the ground and placed it on his back before he and Sora started walking on.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Master Eraqus…is it really you?" Aqua asked as Eraqus nodded.

"Yes Aqua, it's really me. Please don't act so surprised." Eraqus said as Aqua dropped to her knees, staring up at her late master before he knelt down to her level.

"I am…so sorry master…for everything. I've failed to be the master you trained me to be." Aqua said as she lowered her head.

"No, you haven't. You've made me proud Aqua. I've been watching you out there. Training Sora to become a Master was a wise move. You are following your heart and doing what you feel is right. I am as proud of you as a Master can ever be of his pupil. There is no reason for sorrow." Eraqus said as Aqua looked up at him.

"But I'm not succeeding. I've done everything I can and yet I still feel like Sora's not ready to take his Master's Qualification Exam yet." Aqua said as Eraqus moved around so that he was sitting Indian style on the grass. Aqua did the same.

"It's never easy to determine when it's time for the exam, Aqua. But you will feel it in your heart when the time has come. Sora is very close, due in no small part to the experience he's gained from Ven. But don't worry, even when Ventus is restored, he'll still retain the same strength he has now."

"Which reminds me…how do we restore Ven exactly? Is there something special that we'll need, some kind of ceremony or ritual?" Aqua asked as Eraqus shook his head.

"Put your trust in both Ven and Sora to do what needs to be done when the time comes…and that time will be very soon. I can feel Ven's heart and he has almost completely awakened. You will have to start thinking about returning home soon to restore him." Eraqus said as Aqua sighed in memory of her homeworld.

"Home. It's been so long…and the last time I saw it..." she said, allowing her sentence to drop off.

"It may have changed but the changes made to it can be undone. You were the one who made the changes after all." Eraqus said as Aqua looked at him.

"No-no I meant before I-…" "Oh right-right-right, Xehanort's changes. I see what you mean now. But even his changes are reversible…well, most of them anyway." Eraqus said as Aqua pulled out both hers and Terra's lucky charms.

"So that answers my questions about Sora and Ven…but what about Terra?" Aqua asked as she held Terra's charm in her hand.

"You already have what you need to free him from Xehanort's control. You will encounter Xehanort again soon and when you do, you must trust Terra to reclaim his body. You need only to keep Xehanort at bay while he does so." Eraqus said as Aqua sighed.

"Is…is he still in there? I know he had a lucid moment in Twilight Town but after that, I'm not sure he's even still in there anymore." Aqua said, looking at his charm.

"Do you really doubt the resolve of Terra's Heart that much? Terra is stubborn. He's not going to give up; you know that more than either of us. Besides, I know from firsthand experience that Terra is still inside there." Eraqus said as Aqua looked up at him, a look of shock clear on her face.

"Huh?" She asked.

"His heart is still there, trapped within his body. You were right when you said that the darkness of those around him gives Xehanort's heart a boost in power, feeding off the darkness like a parasite, and allowing him to overwhelm Terra. But our boy is still there; biding his time and building his strength for when the opportunity will arrive that will finally free him of Xehanort's influence forever. But there is more." Eraqus said as a look of curiosity swept over Aqua's face.

"Really? What is it?" She asked.

"Terra's heart isn't alone in his struggle to overpower Xehanort. He has some help." Eraqus said as Aqua pondered.

"Who?" She asked as Eraqus smiled again.

"When Xehanort killed me, Terra reached out to try and catch me but when he did; my heart took root within his own. Though dormant like Ven's own heart, my heart will give Terra that extra boost he needs when the time comes. You'll see what I mean eventually." Eraqus said as Aqua smiled with a look of hope and joy on her face.

"Terra." She said softly as she looked up towards the blue sky above. She then felt something fall into her hands. She looked down and saw Eraqus's Keyblade sitting in her hands. She closed her fingers around it carefully.

"Your Keyblade?" She said before looking up at her master, "I thought I lost it while wandering in the Realm of Darkness. How did you-?"

"Not everything is lost in darkness, Aqua. And it is no longer my Keyblade. No, that Keyblade belongs to a true master of the Keyblade. I want you to have it." Eraqus said as Aqua summoned her own Keyblade, Rainstorm, looked at it quietly for a moment before she removed the keychain, causing it to revert back to its basic Rainfall form. She then sighed and grasped a hold of Eraqus's Keyblade though when she did it disappeared into its keychain. Aqua quietly placed the keychain on her Keyblade and in a flash of light it became Eraqus's Keyblade.

"Mark of Mastery. It will serve you well Aqua." Eraqus said as Aqua held the Keyblade in her hands cautiously.

"I still feel hesitant to use it, Master. It was your Keyblade after all. It feels wrong for me to use it instead of you." Aqua said as Eraqus smiled and laughed.

"I never said you had to use it. I only want you to have it…if anything to remind you of your own training and to give you some silent moral support when you need it most." Eraqus said as Aqua held the Keyblade close.

"Thank you master. I won't forget you or your training." Aqua said as Eraqus smiled again.

"There is one more thing I have to give you, and this was handed down to me from my master when I achieved the rank myself." Eraqus said as he stood up and slid off his white haori with red lining, and handed it to Aqua who gaped at it hesitantly.

"Huh? Oh no master, I could never-!" Aqua said but Eraqus interrupted her.

"I insist Aqua. You are the first of my pupils to become a master. It is tradition for a true Keyblade Master to wear a robe such as this and it is also tradition that the first apprentice to become a Master when the master has more than one apprentice gets the robe as a symbol of honor." Eraqus said as Aqua finally relented and put the robe on. She was surprised when she felt that it fit her perfectly.

"It suits you, and who knows, perhaps Sora will be wearing the robe soon, although that is your choice." Eraqus said as Aqua chuckled nervously.

"I hope you'll forgive me for being greedy, but I don't think he'll ever wear this particular robe. He'll get one, just not this one." Aqua said as Eraqus laughed with delight.

"Ah that's my Aqua." Eraqus said before they both fell silent again. Aqua heard what sounded like a rustling bush nearby and turned to see that the path had reappeared, though it led onwards from where she was and not backwards. She then turned back to her late master.

"So…I guess this is goodbye." Aqua said as Eraqus shrugged.

"Not yet. I can still walk along side of you while we meet up with Sora. I'd like to meet the lad myself actually." Eraqus said as Aqua smiled with glee.

"I would be honored to introduce you master." Aqua said as they both turned and started walking on down the path, Eraqus walking to her left on the grass as they progressed.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Sora and Zack were still walking along the road until they came across a small cottage house off the road. Sitting out front in a rocking chair was a small, elderly woman with thick, grey hair tied into a bun. She wore a sleeveless, purple dress with a white apron over it. She also wore a dark cloth tied around her neck, and a white ring on her left ring finger. She was rocking back and forth with a pleasant smile on her face with her eyes closed.

"Who's that?" Sora asked as Zack grinned.

"Oh she's something of a friend of a very close friend of yours." Zack replied.

"Huh?" Sora asked confused.

"You'll see." Zack replied as the road curved towards both her and the cottage.

"Hello there old timer. I've got a friend with me who I know you're just gonna love." Zack said as the woman opened her eyes, revealing a sparkling blue within them.

"Oh why hello there Sora. I see you've met Zack, the puppy." The old woman said as Sora snickered and turned to Zack with an amused expression.

"The puppy?" Sora asked with stifled laughter. Zack simply shrugged.

"Long story, don't get me started." Zack said as he plopped down onto the grass.

"So um…how do you know me? I can tell that we've never met. And I can't seem to find any of Ven's memories that have you in them so…how do I know you?" Sora asked as the woman chuckled.

"Why we have a mutual acquaintance, Sora." She replied.

"We do?" Sora asked as the woman nodded.

"Why of course. You're in love with my granddaughter." The woman replied causing Sora to freeze.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Back up! You're Kairi's grandmother?" Sora asked in disbelief.

"I honestly wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. I was expecting a freak out but not this big-a-one." Zack said as he reclined on a grassy knoll.

"Yes Sora, I am Kairi's Grandmother. I've wanted to meet you for quite a while now. I must say that you're much more handsome in person than the other you described." Kairi's Grandmother explained causing Sora to blush.

"Oh-uh, thank you ma'am. I really-…wait what do you mean other me?" Sora asked confused.

"Oh it's a sad tale. One that everyone in the worlds has forgotten but it involves your nobody, Roxas." Kairi's Grandmother said, further confusing Sora. This time however Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the sphere with the XIII etched onto it and flicked it up into the air. In a flash of light, Roxas appeared in his Twilight Town garb. He then started looking around curiously.

"Okay…we're obviously not in a fight, so what gives?" Roxas asked as he turned to Sora.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Sora asked as Roxas turned and pointed his thumb at Zack.

"He's Zack-," then he pointed his thumb at Kairi's Grandmother, "-and that's Kairi's Grandmother. I'm up to speed."

"Yeah okay. So what's this about a story that involves you Roxas?" Sora asked as Roxas shrugged.

"Beats the heck out of me." Roxas said as Zack interjected.

"Question, if you're a nobody, do you even have heck to beat out of you?" Zack asked, earning a wry glare from Sora and Roxas.

"What?" he asked innocently, grabbing a blue colored apple from out of nowhere and biting down on it.

"The story is one that even you forgot Roxas." Kairi's Grandmother said, confusing both Sora and Roxas.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"You have forgotten but at one time, there was a fourteenth member of Organization XIII. She was one of your only two friends within the Organization aside from Axel, and the two of you shared a common bond. You both were derived from Sora in one way, shape, or form." Kairi's Grandmother explained.

"Are we talking about Namine?" Sora asked as Kairi's Grandmother shook her head.

"No, child. I speak of…oh why am I talking about her like she isn't even here?" Kairi's grandmother asked herself as she stood up and opened the front door to the cottage.

"Come on out child! It's alright!" She called. Soon they heard the sound of footsteps against the wooden floor of the cottage and from it emerged a figure clad in the black Organization robes but with the Organization's heeled boots of the female members, although the heels weren't as noticeable as Larxene's were. Sora and Roxas were both confused.

"It's so good to see you again Roxas. More than you know." A young woman's voice said but neither of them could see her face.

"Who are you? How are you connected to us?" Roxas asked confused.

"You forgot me, but I never forgot you. I've been with you ever since before you faced Riku after you planned to leave the Organization. I've been a part of you." The figure said as Roxas scratched his head. He started trying to remember his time in the Organization but every time he did, he noticed several apparent gaps in his memory. Almost as if there were patches of static on a television set, blocking out the image of something or someone as they moved, leaving the others unhindered.

"I…I don't remember. I'm trying, but I just don't." Roxas replied as the figure lowered her head and then put a hand to the edge of her hood.

"Then…look at my face…and remember." The figure said as she pulled back the hood, revealing a face that Roxas had forgotten but looked strikingly familiar.

"Kairi?" Sora asked confused but the girl shook her head, some of her long jet black hair dropping down in front of her face and shining blue eyes.

"No. My name isn't Kairi. It's Xion."

* * *

**End Chapter 29.**

Surprised?

Okay firstly, I was uber-stoked when I found out the voice actors for Eraqus and Master Xehanort. Mark Hamill as Eraqus and Leonard Nimoy as Xehanort was, in my opinion, the perfect choices for those roles. Mark's one of my favorite voice actors, since he's done super awesome roles such as Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar the Last Airbender, and the Joker from the Paul Dini Batman cartoons and Arkham Asylum. And who can argue with Spock? **(Please no Star Wars vs. Star Trek comments in your reviews.)**


	30. Remembrance

"Xion?" Sora asked as the girl nodded. Roxas slowly started to have flashes of memory where he saw a girl much similar in appearance. Only difference was that her hair was shorter, like Kairi's was a year ago. This girl looked like Kairi did now, only with the obvious change in clothes and the jet black hair.

"Sora, you wouldn't remember me if you tried. Reason being, we've never met before. Roxas knows me though, so he should remember." Xion said as Roxas looked down at his hands and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Suddenly though, Oblivion disappeared and reappeared in Xion's hand.

"Did you ever wonder how you were able to wield two Keyblades, Roxas?" Xion asked as Roxas suddenly remembered.

"Xion! How did I forget you? How did I allow myself to forget you?" Roxas asked as Xion looked sadly at Oblivion in her hand.

"Because you weren't meant to remember me. No one was. All the memories of me were supposed to disappear when I did." Xion said as Roxas looked confused.

"But…oh…that's right. I remember now…but if I wasn't supposed to remember you…why am I remembering you now?" Roxas asked as Xion smiled.

"Because you will need the strength of your memories of our time together. Those memories will help you in the battles to come." Xion said as Sora finally interjected.

"Um, I'm sorry for sounding like a broken record but, who are you and why do you look like Kairi?" Sora asked. Roxas also turned towards her with an expectant look.

"Yeah, and how come you're hair's longer than it used to be?" Roxas asked as Xion giggled and ran a gloved hand through her hair.

"I can answer both questions easily. Sora, I'm an imperfect replica of you. I'm made of your memories. Your memories of Kairi are your strongest ones which resulted in my appearance becoming to look like Kairi. Well, your memories of her are still your strongest ones, so once you saw her again in the Castle that Never Was, your memories changed slightly. Your memories made me, Mmm, mature a little as it were." Xion explained.

"Okay…that explains the hair." Sora said, scratching his head.

"But I'm still confused as to how and why you're here?" Roxas asked as Xion sighed with a chuckle.

"I'm a part of you both, Roxas. I'm a part of Sora's heart just as much as you are." Xion said.

"So my memories of you are supposed to strengthen me?" Roxas asked as Xion nodded.

"You need proof? Alright." Xion said as she raised Oblivion and dropped into a battle stance mimicking Sora and Roxas's perfectly. Sora and Roxas both dropped into their stances. Xion leapt over them and landed behind them on a giant platform resembling the Station of Awakening only with an image of Xion herself asleep on the platform. (Battle Music Cue: The 13th Reflection – KH Final Mix Soundtrack)

"Where did that come from?" Sora asked, referring to the platform as Roxas shrugged. Roxas then leapt onto the platform as the sky darkened. Sora attempted to follow after her but something held him back. He clutched his heart and realized it was Ven holding him back.

"Let go, Ven! Roxas needs my help!" Sora argued with himself but to no avail.

On the platform, Xion stood ready for battle with Oblivion in hand while Roxas stood prepared with Oathkeeper. Roxas was then taken completely by surprise when Xion hurled Oblivion at him. He quickly reached up and grabbed the Keyblade by the handle, now double-wielding yet again. Xion held out her hand and summoned forth a black and white Keyblade possessing a curved, notched blade with a noticeably sharp edge. The handle was composed of the same checkerboard pattern on Roxas's wristband and the keychain was the X shaped symbol on Roxas's zipper chain.

"What is that?" Roxas asked as Xion dropped back into her battle stance.

"This is a Keyblade formed from your very existence, Roxas. It's called Two Become One. This is an example of how your memories will strengthen you. You also need to remember one very important thing Roxas…" Xion said as Roxas looked at her curiously. She then suddenly lunged forward with a downward swing of her Keyblade, but fortunately Roxas thought to block the blow.

"…The stronger you get, the stronger Sora gets!" Xion said as she leapt back and fired a Thundaga at Roxas who dodge rolled out of the way and charged at her head on. Xion did the same and made a full three sixty degree turn before swinging the Keyblade fiercely at Roxas who managed to block with both Keyblades. Outside the platform Sora was watching in disbelief as he watched Roxas and the near Kairi-lookalike doing battle.

"Banora Apple?" Zack asked, holding out one of the blue colored apples to Sora, who only gave him a disbelieving glare in response.

"How can you eat at a time like this?" Sora asked as Zack looked at the apple and shrugged.

"You really think Xion is going to kill him or vice-versa? For Pete's sakes we're in the afterlife kid. It's not like anyone here is gonna die any more than they are already." Zack replied as they returned their attention to the fight. Roxas and Xion were still going at it, neither of them getting a definitive edge over the other.

"Hey Roxas, remember that time we toilet papered Memory's Skyscraper?" Xion asked as they exchanged blows.

"Yeah? Why?...oh." Roxas said sheepishly as he realized that he remembered the event, which was Xion's intention. Xion then leapt back and raised her Keyblade towards the sky, causing a number of glowing swords made of light to appear in an effort to hit Roxas but the Key of Destiny knew the move and quickly crossed his two Keyblades, causing a wall of light to surround him. He then swung his Keyblades outward in a scissor cut, shattering the wall and sending out a crescent shaped wave of light. Xion grinned as she dodge rolled out of the way.

"You see Roxas! That's a move you never had before!" Xion shouted before she lunged at him again but this time Roxas was ready, he blocked with Oblivion and pointed Oathkeeper towards the sky, creating a powerful beam of light similar to Sora's Light of the Worlds Command Style attack. This time however, the beam lit up the sky overhead before raining down a countless number of smaller beams onto the platform, causing Xion to dodge repeatedly while trying to avoid the attacks.

"You're only proving my point further, Roxas!" Xion shouted as she continued dodging the rain of light before she was hit by one.

"I've not only grown stronger because of you Xion…it's because Sora's grown stronger too." Roxas said as he aimed Oblivion at Xion before it suddenly gave off thirteen clones of itself made of light. The clones quickly surrounded Xion in a circle before suddenly converging on her and pinning her in place. He had just used Sora's Thirteenth Strike Shoot Lock. (End music)

"Now you understand!" Xion said with a grin as she dismissed her Keyblade. A powerful gust of wind blew in causing everyone to shield themselves. When the wind finally died down they opened their eyes to find themselves back in the serine and peaceful knoll covered grassland with the road. Sora and Roxas stood on the road while Xion stood with one foot on the grass, and another foot on the road. Zack and Kairi's grandmother both were on the grass.

"I think I understand. You've been with me all this time. Even when I became one with Sora, you were there with both of us. You've seen everything we've done, so why haven't you revealed yourself before now?" Roxas asked as Xion smiled.

"Because I couldn't. This world, the Road of Remembrance, allows those once forgotten, to be remembered. I was given the opportunity to see you again Roxas, to remind you of all the great…and not so great times that we spent together. Oh and you don't need to worry about Axel. His memories of me are coming back too." Xion said as she approached Roxas and pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks for being there Roxas." Xion said as Roxas smiled and nodded.

"No, thank you, Xion." Roxas said before turning to Sora and nodding. Sora nodded back understandingly as Xion slipped her arm around Roxas's waist as both of them plus Sora started glowing with the white aura. Roxas and Xion both disappeared in a flash of light, leaving only the Blue sphere with the XIII etched into it behind. Sora caught it and looked at it silently in his hand before turning to Zack and Kairi's grandmother.

"Pretty cool, huh Sora?" Zack asked, still reclining on the knoll near the cottage.

"Yeah. Now Roxas's memories of her are being shared with me. So we both have gotten stronger." Sora said as he held out his Keyblade and summoned "Two Become One" instead of his usual Keyblade.

"And with that, it's time to move on." Zack said before he started to climb to his feet.

"Already?" Sora asked as Zack nodded.

"Yep. Afraid so. We've gotta get you reunited with your Master." Zack said but Kairi's Grandmother approached.

"Before you go Sora, there is something I must tell you. It is the same thing I told Kairi many years ago, when she was only a toddler." Kairi's Grandmother said as Sora turned towards her.

"Really? What is it?" Sora asked.

"Have you ever heard the story of how the worlds came to be the way they are? How Kingdom Hearts came to be?" Kairi's Grandmother asked as Sora pondered and shook his head.

"I'm afraid not." Sora replied as Kairi's grandmother smiled and began the story.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted the light for themselves and darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of the light survived... in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. They rebuilt Radiant Garden. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open and the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Sora?" She asked as Sora smiled and nodded

"I think I do." Sora said as Kairi's grandmother smiled.

"Please tell Kairi how you feel the next time you see her. It will change the outcome of the future when you do." Kairi's Grandmother said as Sora nodded again.

"I'll do my best ma'am." Sora said as he turned to Zack.

"You ready to go?" He asked as Sora nodded, "Alright then, follow me."

* * *

**Later…**

Sora and Zack reached a point in the road where it met with another road and stopped at a shady green garden shaped like a keyhole like the one in Disney Town that Aqua had found, and subsequently fallen asleep. Zack and Sora entered into the garden to find Aqua and a man that Sora didn't recognize standing and talking with each other. Aqua was now wearing a white haori with a red lining.

"Aqua!" Sora exclaimed as he ran towards her. Aqua turned to her apprentice who skid to a halt.

"Sora, you're here. I'd like you to meet someone very special to myself, Ven, and Terra. Sora, this is Master Eraqus, the Keyblade Master who trained me." Aqua said as Eraqus gave Sora a humble bow. Sora was awe struck.

"Master Eraqus! Wow!" Sora said, too stunned to really say anything, causing Eraqus to laugh.

"What's the matter Ven, cat got your tongue?" Eraqus asked as Sora shook himself for a second.

"I thought you looked very familiar. You were in Ven's memories!" Sora said as Eraqus smiled and nodded.

"I would hope so." Eraqus said before Aqua noticed Zack, hanging back at the entrance to the garden, leaning against one of the walls, watching them with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

"Will you two excuse me for a second?" Aqua asked as she walked towards Zack whose smirk widened as she approached.

"Excuse me, but…haven't we met?" Aqua asked as Zack chuckled.

"Oh come on, you honestly don't recognize me? Zack? Zack Fair?" Zack asked as Aqua's eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock.

"Zack? You're dead? How did that happen?" She asked as Zack shrugged.

"I took a few rounds protecting the life of a good friend of mine. It was just a flesh wound." Zack said as Aqua sighed.

"Why do I feel responsible for this?" Aqua asked as Zack arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah why do you feel responsible? My death had nothing to do with you. It was long after you got trapped in the Realm of Darkness." Zack replied.

"It did?" Aqua asked as Zack nodded.

"Yeah." Zack replied.

"Oh. For a moment there, I thought that my not agreeing to go on that date with you had something to do with it." Aqua said as Zack gave her a funny look before busting out laughing.

"Oh that's a good one! Seriously, Aqua, just ask anyone who knew me in life, and they'd say I was a major flirt with the girls. Talk to Aerith in Radiant Garden, she'll tell ya." Zack said as Aqua nodded.

"Oh okay." Aqua said with a smile.

"But let me tell ya one thing Aqua. That kid over there is really lucky to have you as his master." Zack said as Aqua summoned her Keyblade, now with the "Mark of Mastery" keychain.

"And his master is lucky to have him as an apprentice." Aqua said as she looked at Sora conversing with Eraqus. She then saw Sora fall onto his back, laughing like a lunatic as Eraqus laughed along with him.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Aqua mumbled to herself as she marched towards the two.

"This, I gotta see." Zack said as he followed after her.

"And this is one of when Aqua decided to try and die out the blue from her hair." Eraqus said as he pulled out another photo, causing Sora's laughing spasm to intensify. Aqua then arrived and saw the picture.

"AUGH! MAS-TER!" Aqua whined as she slapped her forehead. Sora was now gasping for air between laughing fits.

"Oh nice." Zack said as he flipped through a few that Eraqus showed him.

"Give me those!" Aqua growled as she tried to snatch the photos from Zack's hand but Zack played keep away.

"Na-ah, finders keepers!" Zack replied as Aqua turned and grabbed Sora by the hair, yanking him up onto his feet.

"Ow-ow-ow-okay-I-get-the-message-ow-ow-ow-ow!" Sora yelped before Aqua finally let him go.

"We really must be going, Master." Aqua said as Eraqus put away the photos, much to Zack and Sora's chagrin.

"So does this really have to be goodbye?" Sora asked as Eraqus nodded.

"I'm afraid so. Because until the two of you arrive here in your own time, then we shall not see each other again." Eraqus said as Zack looked at him.

"Dude, way to bring down everyone's spirits." Zack said as Eraqus shrugged innocently.

"But you have given us one thing that means worlds of difference to us." Sora said as Aqua nodded in agreement.

"You've given us hope." Aqua said as Zack interjected.

"And a fancy new Keyblade and snazzy looking haori for you." Zack said, pointing at Aqua as Sora noticed the new Keyblade and haori.

"Eh, I got a new Keyblade too, although when can I get a haori like this?" Sora asked as Eraqus smiled.

"Once you become a master. Only true masters of the Keyblade may wear a haori such as the one Aqua is wearing." Eraqus said as Sora crossed his arms curiously.

"Then where's yours?" Sora asked as Aqua rolled her eyes.

"Uh, where do you think Aqua got her haori?" Zack asked as Sora finally realized what he meant.

"Oh, okay, cool." Sora said as he rested his hands behind his head.

"As much as it really pains me to say this, we really do need to go." Aqua said as Eraqus and Zack both nodded.

"We know. And we wish you both well on your journey." Eraqus said before he and Aqua closed as much distance as possible with each other without stepping off the path and into the grass, and vice versa, before embracing each other in a hug.

"I'll never forget you master." Aqua said, a tear running down her cheek, as Eraqus kissed her on the forehead like a father would a daughter.

"And I won't forget you either, Aqua." Eraqus replied, a tear running down his own cheek as well.

"I'll be sure to tell Cloud and Aerith that I saw you." Sora said as Zack smirked and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks pal. I really appreciate it." Zack said as he and Sora bumped knuckles together. Aqua and Sora then switched places, Aqua saying goodbye to Zack.

"I'm sorry you died, Zack. You really seemed like a nice guy." Aqua said as Zack shrugged.

"Eh, forget about it. I'm just fine where I am." Zack said as Aqua glanced towards Sora for a second before looking back towards Zack.

"And, about that date…even if you were still around, I couldn't. I've got someone else." Aqua said as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Bah, it's alright. I know you and Ven are quite an item. Eraqus filled me in, and I have been watching you guys for quite a while." Zack said as Aqua smiled at him.

"So, you think I could get copies of those pictures?" Sora whispered to Eraqus who glanced mischievously at Aqua before turning back.

"I'm sorry, Sora! I cannot give you those pictures!" Eraqus said loudly so that Aqua could hear. He then gave Sora a wink.

"Check your back pocket." He whispered into the boy's ear. Sora quickly did so and he felt a large envelope inside. Sora winked back with a grin. Finally Aqua and Sora stood next to each other, their armor activated, Aqua's armor neatly appearing over the haori, and their Keyblade Riders summoned. They watched as almost magically the world around them dissolved into the multicolored clouds they had seen when first entering the world and soon they were flying amongst the stars once more, no sign of the clouds in sight.

"So Aqua, what did you and Eraqus talk about?" Sora asked as they flew.

"We talked about you if you must know." Aqua replied.

"Me?" Sora asked curiously.

"Yes, you. You, Ven, and Terra." Aqua replied.

"And…?" Sora asked expecting an answer.

"And I know what to do when it comes time to restore Ven." Aqua replied as Sora grinned inside his helmet.

"So, do you think I'm ready?" Sora asked.

"Not quite. Ven's heart still isn't fully awake yet. Let's give it a little more time. The second he's ready to come out, we'll make a B-line to my homeworld." Aqua replied as Sora grinned again.

"Alright!" Sora cheered, causing Aqua to giggle inside her helmet.

"Easy there Sora, don't get off course." Aqua replied. They then started to pass an unfamiliar world.

"Hey! Look at that!" Sora said as he came to a stop. Aqua pulled up next to him.

"Looks like another world to me Sora." Aqua said.

"Yeah but I don't recognize it. Do you?" Sora asked as Aqua shook her head.

"Nope, can't say that I do." She replied.

"Doesn't that make you want to go and check it out?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged.

"Oh why not. We could use a little distraction. Who knows, maybe Ven will decide he's ready while we're there." Aqua said as Sora cheered with joy before racing off towards the world with Aqua in close pursuit. Inside Aqua's mind, she was thinking one thing…

"_It'll all be over soon Ven. I can feel it."_

* * *

**End Chapter 30.**


	31. A Toy Story Part 1

Sora & Aqua both flew down towards the world, passing through the world barrier effortlessly. Soon they saw what appeared to be a desert surrounded by tall rocky mountains and bluffs, not at all unlike the kind you would find in your stereotypical western. Fitting right into the scene was a small wooden town that practically screamed western. Two rows of wooden buildings, with three buildings apiece and with what appeared to be a schoolhouse at the end of the two rows. The two touched down their Keyblade Riders, facing the schoolhouse.

"Is it just me, or did we just drop into a cheesy cowboy movie?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged. Their armor and Keyblade Riders had vanished, leaving them in their usual attire.

"I dunno. I've never been here before. You?" Aqua asked as Sora shook his head.

"Nope." Sora replied.

"Well this is probably a first. A world that neither of us have been to before." Aqua said with a laugh as Sora chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah you're right. But there's something missing from this place." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Yeah. People, that's what's missing." Aqua said as Sora smirked.

"Oh I know why. I've seen enough cartoon westerns to know what's wrong. Stranger comes to town, the people hide, and then there's a shootout." Sora said as Aqua looked at him with a blank stare.

"Sora, we're not here to harm anyone. I'm not getting into a shootout, besides I hate guns." Aqua said as Sora shrugged.

"I know, but hey, this place looks deserted." Sora said as Aqua nodded.

"Yep, definitely no sign of intelligent life anywhere." She said with a shrug. Until…

"Hello?"

"WHOA!" "AHHH!" Sora and Aqua yelped as they quickly summoned their Keyblades and dropped into a battle stance. Their sudden, yet mutual, startling was caused by the sudden appearance of a tall man in a yellow plaid shirt with white button cufflinks, a black and white cow hide vest with a gold star over his left breast with the word "Sheriff" written on it, red paisley bandana around his neck, a pair of blue jeans, brown cowboy boots with spurs, an empty gun holster with red jewel on his right hip attached to a brown leather belt with a gold ranchers belt buckle. He had well kept brown hair that looked, downright plastic, and a matching cowboy hat.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Easy there partners, didn't mean to scare ya." The man said (With a voice like Tom Hanks) quickly as the two lowered their weapons.

"Well why did you jump out at us then?" Aqua asked the cowboy shrugged.

"It was just a mistake fellas, no harm done right?" the cowboy asked with a friendly smile. The two looked at each other and shrugged.

"You're right, we're sorry." Sora said as the cowboy smiled and chuckled.

"Ah forget about it, there's nothing to forgive. But where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Sheriff Woody, and this dusty ol' town is known as known as Toy Box Town." The cowboy said as he motioned to town.

"Looks like a nice place. Is it just you here?" Aqua asked as Woody laughed.

"Aw no. Everyone's just hiding. Hang on just a second." Woody said as he turned towards the town and hollered, "Hey everyone! Come on out and give these two newcomers a nice, big, Toy Box Town welcome!"

Slowly, an odd assortment of people started appearing from inside or behind the buildings. Sora noticed right off that none of them looked like they belonged in a western themed world.

"Psst, hey Aqua, these guys seem kinda familiar." Sora whispered.

"How so?" Aqua whispered back as the people gathered around.

"They look like a bunch of living, life sized…toys." Sora said as he looked squarely at a life sized Slinky Dog toy that was moving and behaving all on its own. Aside from the Slinky Dog, there was a large plastic green T-Rex toy, a pink piggy bank, a Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, a life-sized Barbie doll in a business suit, a brown stuffed horse toy, and a trio of small three eyed aliens with a single antennae, pointed ears, three fingered hands, blue jumpsuits with the symbol of a pizza with a Saturn ring around it on the left breast. They then noticed that Woody's arm, shoulder, and leg joints were all painfully thin, as if they had been sewn onto his body.

"Everyone, say hello to…uh what are your names?" Woody asked as Sora and Aqua looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'm Sora."

"And I'm Aqua." They introduced.

"And we uh…come in peace." Sora said with a smile.

"Now where have we heard that before?" the piggy bank asked knowingly (with a voice sounding like John Ratzenberger) as he waddled up to them.

"Hey there, the name's Hamm, the banker here in Toy Box Town. Say that's a fancy lookin' key ya got there buddy boy." The piggy bank said, looking at Sora's Keyblade.

"Thanks." Sora said as the dinosaur approached him.

"Oh I'm so glad you're not dinosaurs!" the dinosaur said as he shook both Sora and Aqua's hands happily.

"Thanks…I think." Aqua said with a shrug.

"That's Rex." Woody said as the dinosaur backed up and the Slinky Dog approached.

"Everyone calls me Slinky or just Slink." The Slinky Dog said with a friendly nod before the two potato heads approached with the three eyed aliens behind them.

"I'm Mr. Potato Head, and this is my wife, Mrs. Potato Head." Mr. Potato Head said as the Mrs. Pulled the three aliens around in front, each making a squeaking noise as they moved.

"And these are our children!" she said loudly (with a voice like Estelle Harris').

"Strangers-." "-from the outside!" two of the three aliens said before all three of them went "Oooh" in unison.

"Uh, hi." Aqua said with a friendly wave. She then felt a wet tongue lick the side of her face. She turned with a start and saw the horse looking at her with a friendly expression.

"Oh, that's Bullseye, the fastest most loyal steed in the west." Woody introduced, as Aqua smiled and rubbed her hand over the horse's muzzle.

"Aww, that's a good horsey." Aqua said as the Barbie doll approached

"I'm school teacher Barbie, I run the school over there." The Barbie doll said with a cheery smile and matching disposition. This caused Sora to pause.

"Okay, hold on, do you guys realize that you're all life sized toys?" Sora asked as the assortment of toys looked at each other and almost shrugged in unison.

"Well yeah. So?" Woody said with a shrug.

"Really? Huh." Sora said, putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose. Woody then started looking around curiously.

"Oh pull my string, where's Buzz and Jessie? They're supposed to be here!" Woody said. Just then they heard a woman's voice call…

"Did someone call my name? YODEL-AY-EEE-OOO!"

Just then a woman landed in the center of the crowd from overhead. She had red yarn for hair in a ponytail with yellow bow and a red cowgirl hat on her head. She was dressed in a white with yellow top cowgirl's shirt, blue jeans with cowhide chaps, a belt matching Woody's own, and a pair of cowboy boots but without the spurs. She turned to them with an excited grin.

"Well howdy folks! Name's Jessie!" the cowgirl greeted, shaking the two's hands excitedly.

"I'm Sora, and this is-." "Jessie?" Aqua asked in silent disbelief.

"Your name's Jessie too?" Jessie asked as Aqua shook her head, still stunned.

"No. My name's Aqua, but you…you're a Jessie doll. I had a Jessie doll just like you when I was just a little girl…well you were much, much smaller." Aqua said as she looked Jessie over slowly, a hint of a tear in her eye but a soft smile on her face.

"Aww well ain't that swell? I reckon you and I'll get along just fine." Jessie said as she quickly put her arm around the blue haired Keyblade Master.

"Well whaddya know, she's got a fan club besides ol' astro-nut." Mr. Potato Head said with a chuckle. Just then they heard the roar of engines and a blue light appear from overhead. Everyone backed out of the way as a man in a spacesuit with bright blue flames coming from a winged jetpack slowly touched down. The man's spacesuit was green and white with purple straps running from a panel on the chest down to his waist. There were four buttons on his chest, a blue, green, and red set of buttons on his right, a single red round one on his left, and in the center was a blue insignia with a planet with wings behind a rocket ship under the words "Space Ranger" in black lettering. On his right arm was a red button on his upper arm surrounded by a black and yellow hazard striped label that read "Laser." Below the button on his lower arm was said "laser," though it looked like a light bulb that blinks. His left arm had an insignia with the letters S and R on either side of a rocket ship on his upper arm with a strange panel on his lower arm. The wings were purple on the bottom with white and red hazard stripes along the top with flashing green and red lights on the tips of the wings. The spaceman's head was inside a sort of purple suit but with two small round bumps where his ears were.

"Sorry we're late Woody, we were just checking out a disturbance in sector four. The race track needs some more batteries for the speed enhancement section." The spaceman said (with a voice like Tim Allen) as Woody nodded understandingly. The spaceman pressed the big red button on his chest and in a flash his wings closed up behind him.

"No problem Buzz. Hey, say hello to the new comers." Woody said as the spaceman turned towards the two.

"Greetings, I am Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger, Universe Protection Unit, and I come in peace." Buzz said, extending a hand and retracting his helmet at the same time. Sora was stunned as he stood in disbelief.

"Whoa! A real Buzz Lightyear! I've got one of these at home! A pleasure to meet you Mr. Lightyear!" Sora said as he enthusiastically shook the Space Ranger's hand.

"The pleasure is mine, my spiky haired friend. What might your name be?" Buzz asked as Sora grinned.

"I'm Sora, and this is Aqua." Sora said, motioning to Aqua who smiled and nodded to the Space Ranger.

"Ma'am." Buzz said with a friendly nod and handshake.

"So a town full of living toys, in a western setting. I'm not sure that I understand completely." Aqua said, not noticing as most of the toys started to disperse, leaving Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Bullseye behind with Sora and Aqua.

"Well we don't understand it either. You see years ago, we were just ordinary toys with separate owners but all of our owners knew each other. But then one day we find ourselves in this place. So we decided to make the best of things." Woody explained.

"We've been here ever since." Jessie added.

"Oh I wish I knew where my old Buzz Lightyear toy was, and then I could probably get you to autograph it." Sora said as Buzz laughed.

"Well where was I the last time you saw me?" Buzz asked.

"I had him in my room…but that was over a year ago…and before the islands were swallowed into darkness." Sora said with a sigh.

"Darkness? Would this happen to be one of Zurg's nefarious schemes?" Buzz asked, earning an amused giggle from Jessie, and a blank stare from Woody.

"No Buzz, it wasn't Zurg, for crying out loud!" Woody groaned. Aqua was curious however.

"Who's Zurg?" Aqua asked as Woody groaned and face palmed.

"Oh here we go." He mumbled.

"Evil Emperor Zurg is the most evil menace the galaxy has ever seen! As a member of the Universe Protection Corps, I protect the galaxy from the threat of invasion, by the Evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance!" Buzz declared proudly before pausing with a sheepish look on his face.

"Uh Woody, did I just…" "Yeah, you did just relapse into Space Ranger mode again." Woody said as Buzz rubbed his hand over his face.

"Sorry about that, it's just kinda drilled into me." Buzz said with an innocent shrug.

"No problem, I thought it was rather…oh what's a good word?" Aqua asked.

"How about cheesy?" Woody asked, causing Sora to snicker.

"Right. Well we'd love to stay and chat but we've got stuff we've got to do. This world doesn't seem to be in any trouble. I don't see any Heartless or Nobodies here so we probably should be going." Aqua said as Sora nodded.

"Yeah, we're on a kind of mission and we can't stop in one place for very long." Sora said as the three toys gave them understanding looks.

"The mission must always take priority. Good luck out there." Buzz said with a salute.

"Hope you find what you're looking for." Jessie said as she and Aqua shook hands again.

"And if you ever want to come back and give a bunch of toys a visit, then don't hesitate to drop on in." Woody said as Sora and Aqua turned to leave, waving to the toys as they walked towards the edge of town. They walked in silence until Aqua paused with a concentrated look on her face. Sora paused and turned towards her curiously.

"Something wrong?" Sora asked. Aqua sighed before answering.

"I'm such a dunce." Aqua said as she ran a hand down her face.

"Well I knew that. But what are you talking about?" Sora asked as Aqua gave him a wry glare.

"Sheriff Woody, Bullseye, Jessie, the name of the town. I've seen them all before. They're from an old TV show from when Terra, Ven, and I were just kids. It was a show called, naturally, Woody's Roundup! We each had toys of Woody, Bullseye, Jessie…oh and Stinky Pete the Prospector!" Aqua said as Sora laughed.

"Stinky Pete?" he asked in amusement.

"Yeah, yeah. Terra had him, but he also had Woody, and I had Bullseye and Jessie. When Ven came along, we gave him Woody and Bullseye respectively. Oh those were good times. Times that I cherish in my heart." Aqua said with a smile and a distant stare.

"I know what you mean. The time Riku, Kairi, and I spent just playing with toys are times I cherish too. I had Buzz Lightyear, Riku had Zurg, and Kairi had none of it so she went with Barbie." Sora said as Aqua snickered.

"I kinda already had Kairi pegged as a Barbie Girl." Aqua said. (Irony)

"You know though, as I think about it, I also had a Mr. Potato Head, the Dinosaur, Slinky Dog, and the three of us each had one of those aliens. If I remember correctly, Kairi had a Mrs. Potato Head, and Riku had the piggy bank." Sora said as Aqua looked back curiously at the three toys who were talking with each other as Bullseye stood loyally by them.

"You don't suppose…" Aqua said as she tapped her chin, "…that these are our old toys just come to life do you?"

"It's possible. But if that's the case, where's Terra's Prospector toy and Riku's Zurg?" Sora asked as Aqua shrugged.

"Good question. You know perhaps it's worth asking." Aqua said.

"What about Ven?" Sora asked.

"Relax Sora, one question isn't going to hurt anything." Aqua said as Sora nodded in agreement and followed after her towards the toys who noticed their approach.

"Well Hey-Howdy-Hey. Back so soon?" Woody asked.

"I had just a quick question for the three of you. Do the two of you know a toy named Stinky Pete?" Aqua asked curiously. Woody and Jessie's expressions both darkened slightly, as did Buzz's. Even Bullseye looked disheartened at the mention of the old Prospector.

"Stinky Pete was banished from here years ago. He still causes trouble for us every once in a while but we always straighten him out." Woody said as Buzz and Jessie both nodded.

"He's tried to destroy Buzz several times." Jessie said earning a surprised look from Aqua.

"I don't understand. Why would Stinky Pete be a bad guy? He was a good guy in the TV show. Why would he be a villain now?" Aqua asked as the toys looked at each other.

"Two words. Space toys. Years ago, Woody's Roundup was taken off the air when children started playing with space toys like Buzz. Prospector never got over that." Woody explained.

"So when Buzz came to town, he tried to get him thrown out but Woody refused." Jessie added.

"Then the old man tried to blow me up by strapping a rocket to my back. Woody caught him in time and banished him from town." Buzz added.

"So, Stinky Pete's here, he's just banished." Aqua said with a somewhat disheartened look.

"I'm afraid so, ma'am." Buzz said as Sora looked up at Buzz.

"Don't suppose that there's an Evil Emperor Zurg running around here is there?" Sora asked as Buzz looked down at him and nodded.

"Yes, the Evil Emperor himself lives in a base just south of here." Buzz said.

"Which is also, coincidentally, near where Stinky Pete's mine is hidden. Those two fight all the time." Woody said.

"What about here. They cause any trouble for you guys at all?" Aqua asked as the three scoffed.

"Hardly." They said in unison. However, they then heard what sounded like an explosion coming from a short distance away. They all turned and saw a small cloud of dust go up into the air.

"Looks like something's going on at Bo Peep's! Come on guys let's go!" Woody said as he hopped onto Bullseye's back along with Jessie. Buzz popped open his wings.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Sora said as he and Aqua summoned their Keyblade Riders but without the armor.

"Ride like the wind, Bullseye!" Woody shouted as Bullseye took off. Buzz squatted down slightly as his jetpack started to roar to life.

"To Infinity and Beyond!" He shouted before launching into the air and after the three. Sora and Aqua looked at each other and shrugged.

"Eh, just go." Aqua said as they took off after the toys.

Our heroes arrived outside of a small farmhouse where a woman in a white and pink shepherdess clothes and holding a cyan blue shepherd's crook. Her skin reflected off the sunlight, as if her skin was made of porcelain, which it was. As they arrived, Buzz retracted his wings, Sora and Aqua dismissed their Keyblade Riders, and Woody and Jessie dismounted Bullseye. Woody immediately hurried up towards the porcelain woman as the others hung back.

"Whose house is this?" Aqua asked.

"Oh this is just where Bo Peep, Woody's gal pal, lives." Jessie said as Buzz noticed something nearby, A smoldering crater.

"Bo Peep?" Sora asked, looking over towards the porcelain woman as she and Woody spoke privately nearby.

"Yep, and by the looks of things, she's lost her sheep again. Don't worry, I'll root 'em out!" Jessie said as she scampered off as if searching.

"Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep. How very ironic." Aqua said with a chuckle.

"Yeah but that Bo Peep doll looks familiar. I think Kairi had one…or was it you?" Sora asked, rubbing his head. Aqua looked at him concerned.

"Ven's memories flaring up again?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"It's an old one I think. It's of a girl, I think about nine or so, playing with a porcelain doll very carefully. Oh, it's you. I can tell by the hair." Sora said as Aqua smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Yep that's Ven and I did have a Bo Peep doll just like her. She came with a lamp in my bedroom. Oh Ven, I can't wait to get you out of there." Aqua said softly. Sora then noticed Buzz near the crater, looking at it curiously. Sora then approached the Space Ranger toy.

"Uh, Buzz? What are you doing?" Sora asked as Buzz opened a panel on his lower left arm and started pressing buttons.

"I'm scanning this crater for any traces of what created it. I suspect that whoever did this was trying to…wait a minute." Buzz said as he spotted something near the crater.

"What are these?" Aqua asked as she spotted what appeared to be two parallel rows of light circles in the dirt.

"Tracks left by Bo Peep's sheep!" Buzz exclaimed as Woody, Jessie, and Bo approached hurriedly.

"Altogether, let's follow the tracks." Woody said as they slowly did so, until the tracks disappeared inside a corn field. Everyone but Sora and Aqua turned to Buzz as soon as they reached the wall of corn.

"Buzz, you think you can give us a bird's eye view?" Woody asked as Buzz stepped back and popped open his wings. He then leapt into the air, his engines launching him high into the air. He hovered overhead for a moment before coming back down, facing away from the others.

"Did you find my sheep, Buzz?" Bo asked as Buzz turned and shook his head. His expression was unreadable.

"No, but I do know where they are and why there's a crater in your pasture." Buzz said as everyone looked at each other.

"Okay, where are they?" Sora asked as Buzz opened the panel on his arm again.

"According to my scans, the crater showed trace elements of Trinitrotoluene." Buzz said, earning blank looks from the others. He sighed before adding. "Trinitrotoluene is TNT, the explosive."

"TNT? But who would-…the Prospector did this?" Woody asked as Jessie gasped.

"Why that no good-dirty-rotten-critter-napper!" Jessie yelled in anger.

"Stinky Pete? But why would he go after Bo Peep's sheep? He's always gunning for you Buzz." Woody said but Buzz didn't react. Aqua however had a suspicion.

"You saw something in the corn field didn't you?" Aqua asked as Buzz knelt down into the dirt and drew something. They all looked and saw it was a letter Z inside of a circle.

"Z! Zurg's calling card!" Sora exclaimed as he saw the letter.

"It was shaped like a crop circle." Buzz added.

"Now what would Zurg want with Bo Peep's sheep?" Woody scoffed.

"Sheep powered ray gun?" Sora asked with a shrug. (A/N: Lol)

"No, Zurg tried it before, didn't work. Zurg is after something else here." Buzz said as Aqua realized something.

"Uh, guys, I believe the obvious question would be, why are they working together? You said that Stinky Pete hate's space toys and I assume that Zurg is a space toy? So what motivation would Zurg have for joining up with Stinky Pete?" Aqua asked.

"I don't know, but we're going to get to the bottom of this. I'll have Sarge and the troops stand guard out here in case anything else happens, Bo." Woody said as Buzz turned and pressed one of the smaller buttons on his chest, relaying Woody's instructions while Bo Peep quickly grabbed Woody by the bandana and kissed him on the cheek.

"Be careful Woody." Bo said as Woody straightened his hat and badge.

"Well, lil' lady you don't need to worry 'cause Sheriff Woody is on the job." Woody said as he joined the others.

"So, what's the plan?" Sora asked.

"We march right up to Zurg's fortress and demand he release Bo Peep's sheep!" Buzz said as Jessie shook her head.

"No way, we gotta get the Prospector out of his mine and force him to tell us where he hid the sheep." Jessie said.

"Guys-guys-guys! I think it's obvious what needs to be done here. We need to split up." Woody said as Aqua quickly threw her arm around Jessie's shoulder.

"I'm with Jessie!" Aqua declared, causing Jessie to grin and put her arm around Aqua in return. Sora turned to Buzz and stood at attention with a salute.

"Cadet Sora, reporting for duty Ranger Lightyear!" Sora said as Buzz saluted back.

"Looks like its Buzz and Sora going after Zurg, while the three of us go after Stinky Pete." Woody said before getting licked in the side of the face by Bullseye.

"Bullseye! Of course you're coming along." Woody laughed before mounting his faithful steed. Jessie hopped on behind him while Aqua summoned her Keyblade Rider. Buzz popped open his wings while Sora summoned his Keyblade Rider as well.

"Good luck Sora." Aqua said as Sora nodded with a smile.

"You too, Master." Sora said.

"Hey Buzz, try not to crash this time. We don't want to get reacquainted with Mrs. Nesbit again now do we?" Woody chortled as Jessie nearly fell off the saddle laughing. Buzz was obviously annoyed.

"It was the one time Woody! We agreed never to mention that again!" Buzz said as Woody chuckled. Sora looked thoughtful.

"Mrs. Nesbit, now where have I heard that name before?" He asked himself quietly. Bullseye then let out a whinny and reared back on his haunches as Woody waved his hat overhead.

"Ride like the wind Bullseye!" Woody shouted, putting the hat back on before Bullseye took off at full gallop with Aqua flying close behind. Sora and Buzz looked at each other and nodded as Buzz's engines started.

"To Infinity-…!" Buzz said as Sora smiled and finished…

"…and Beyond!"

* * *

**End Chapter 31**

**A/N: **I've been trying to figure out how to include Toy Story into the story, and the beginning scene of Toy Story 3 gave me the idea. There will be no spoilers for Toy Story 3 in these chapters so ya'll don't need to worry about that. No I don't own Toy Story or any of its characters.

Also the irony up there was definitely a reference to the song, "Barbie Girl" by the group known as Aqua, hence the irony. Also, I don't know what kinds of Barbie dolls are out there (Kinda obvious given that I'm a guy), but I'm pretty sure that there's no "School teacher" Barbie. (I would not be surprised if there was one though.)

The "Sheep Powered Ray Gun" line is a reference to the cartoon "Sheep in the Big City."


	32. A Toy Story Part 2

Buzz and Sora both rocketed off, easily overtaking Woody, Jessie, Aqua, and Bullseye. Sora easily kept up with Buzz, following him into and through a shallow canyon and up onto a wide empty plain where they both landed behind some cover. Buzz peaked out from behind the rock they had landed behind and motioned for Sora to take a look.

"There it is, Zurg's Fortress itself." Buzz said as Sora peaked out from the side and saw a towering purple skyscraper with a large red circle in the center and the letter Z in yellow written on it. The tower also looked like it had a pair of backwards swept horns.

"Yep, that's Zurg's place alright." Sora muttered.

"No time to lose." Buzz said as he started leaping and rolling from cover to cover, moving closer and closer with each step towards the entrance. Sora followed close behind.

"I don't suppose you know where the door is?" Sora asked after a moment.

"Zurg has an entrance hidden around here somewhere. I've never been able to get in, it's always locked and Zurg has the key with him I'll bet." Buzz said as Sora spotted something. A purple painted object stuck in the ground that was shaped similarly to a parking meter but on it was a shape familiar to Sora, a keyhole. Sora smirked at the sight of it.

"Actually, I can crack it." Sora said, summoning his Keyblade.

"You've had training in intergalactic lock picking?" Buzz asked as Sora smirked.

"Better." He said as he aimed his Keyblade at the keyhole, causing the familiar blue circle to appear around the tip of it and a beam of blue light to shoot out towards the keyhole. When the light dissipated, the device promptly shrunk into the ground and the ground started to shake.

"Whoops." Sora said but Buzz grinned.

"It's not the ground that's shaking; it's the door that's opening!" Buzz exclaimed as a massive door in the ground started opening beneath their feet in the form of a large letter Z. The two quickly leapt down into the hole before the door overhead slammed shut, plunging them into darkness.

"Umm…so now what?" Sora asked. He then saw the green parts of Buzz's spacesuit suddenly illuminate with a bright yet soft green glow. Sora face palmed.

"Oh yeah, you glow in the dark, I forgot." Sora said sheepishly.

"Come on, Zurg's probably waiting for us." He said as he pointed his laser around the room carefully until he found an entrance, "This way."

Sora quickly followed after Buzz as he ran down a dark hallway. Unbeknownst to the two of them, they were being watched by a pair of sinister glowing red eyes in a control room nearby, watching a monitor showing the hallway, shaped in the form of a Z (Go figure) with two glowing yellow blips moving quickly through the hall. A metal hand reached through the gloom towards a lever.

"Come to me, my pray." A deep and sinister voice said as it pulled the lever. Back in the hallway, the lights suddenly flashed on, causing Buzz and Sora to slide to a halt.

"We've been made!" Sora exclaimed just as a door slammed shut behind them and proceeded to extend rows of razor sharp metal spikes. Buzz and Sora saw them and started running just the spikes began moving down the hall after them.

"They're gaining on us!" Sora yelped as he glanced over his shoulder at the rapidly approaching spikes. They looked ahead to see the door at the end of the hall slowly closing shut. They picked up speed as they ran for the door, praying that they make it before the spikes caught them.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Woody and Jessie dismounted Bullseye as Aqua dismissed her Keyblade Rider. They had stopped outside of an old mine shaft.

"Come on, Stinky Pete's probably inside." Woody said as they marched inside, leaving Bullseye outside. Aqua had her Keyblade summoned and was on the alert. The mine shaft twisted and turned but Woody seemed to know the way. Jessie however started acting strangely, tugging at her braid nervously and glancing at the walls. Aqua noticed this.

"Jessie, are you alright?" Aqua asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm alright." She said softly but Aqua wasn't convinced.

"You sure don't show it. You afraid of closed spaces?" Aqua asked as Jessie nodded slightly.

"Kinda." She said as she walked ahead of Woody who dropped back and fell in step with Aqua.

"Jessie doesn't like the mines. It reminds her of the thing she dreads most." Woody said earning a curious look from Aqua.

"What's that?" Aqua asked. Woody hesitated before answering.

"Storage." Woody said as Aqua looked concerned. Woody then continued. "For years, Jessie, Bullseye, Stinky Pete and I, we were the favorite toys of our kids. But, like all of kids, they grew up and we were forgotten. Then one day a man in a white coat, kinda like yours actually, comes in, picks us up, and puts each of us inside a box, and puts us into storage. We would occasionally get a glimpse of our kids, until finally we just…didn't anymore and ended up here. Jessie doesn't like the mines because it reminds her of that box we were put in."

"Couldn't you guys climb out of the box whenever you wanted to?" Aqua asked as Woody nodded.

"Yeah, and we did, frequently. But it just wasn't the same. To a toy, there's nothing more heartwarming than being played with. There's nothing that gives you that feeling of success when you see a child smile while they're playing with their favorite toy, or any toy for that matter. Making kids happy is what we do. They'll all grow up eventually, but every second they spend with you is…there's nothing to describe it. But how would you feel if something you loved, that person, place, or thing that gave you such joy, just disappeared?" Woody asked as Aqua looked at him with a somber expression.

"I know the feeling, like you wouldn't believe Woody. I've lost my best friend, my home, and my boyfriend. So I know the feeling." Aqua said, catching up to Jessie and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"And I know the feeling of being alone too. I've been alone for a long time, and if it wasn't for Sora, I'd still be alone." Aqua said as Jessie looked at her with a soft smile before they both hugged. Aqua then whispered something into Jessie's ear that made the cowgirl pause in silent disbelief before they pulled back, Jessie looking at her with the same expression. Aqua nodded, causing Jessie to smile warmly. Woody didn't know what had just happened but he knew it was good. However his thoughts were interrupted by a faint rattling noise coming from out of nowhere. Aqua and Jessie looked around curiously as they heard the noise too. The rattling was getting louder and louder. Then they saw a light approaching from the tunnel behind them. Woody's eyes widened in realization as he looked down at his feet and gasped. There were rail lines beneath their feet.

"IT'S THE MINE TRAIN! RUN!" Woody shouted as the two turned and started running through the tunnel down the tracks.

"IT'S GAINING ON US!" Jessie shouted as she saw the lantern dangling from the front of the empty mine cars barreling towards them. Aqua then saw a tall space in the tunnel with a low hanging beam. She summoned her Keyblade and flipped it around to where the tooth was facing towards the ground.

"HANG ON TIGHT TO ME, AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T LET GO!" she shouted as Woody and Jessie quickly grabbed her just as she swung and hooked her Keyblade on the beam, swinging herself and the two toys forward slightly.

"LEGS UP!" Aqua shouted and the toys complied just in time for the mine train to run underneath them. Aqua let go of the Keyblade at just the right time and landed in the front most car.

"YEE-HAAAA! That was amazing!" Jessie exclaimed as the track leveled out.

"I think you're my new favorite deputy." Woody laughed.

"We're not out of the woods yet Sheriff. Where does this track lead?" Aqua asked.

"Straight to Stinky Pete's lair." Woody replied. They then heard a thud come from one of the mine cars behind them. They turned and saw what appeared to be one of your stereotypical toy soldiers, with the tall red hat and matching uniform but the face exposed its true nature. Its face was black with distinct yellow eyes and its hands were black claws.

"Heartless!" Aqua shouted as she summoned her Keyblade and fired a Firaga blast at the Heartless, vaporizing it. Soon more toy soldier heartless dropped in and onto the mine cars.

"What are these things?" Woody asked.

"Bad guys!" Aqua shouted back as she started peppering away with Firaga blasts until she finally entered Fire Blazer and the attacks made short work of the heartless. Jessie looked ahead and saw something.

"Woody!" Jessie exclaimed, turning the Sheriff towards a sign that read "Bridge out."

"Uh oh!" Woody said as they passed the sign.

"Aqua! We're about to run out of track real fast!" Jessie said to the Keyblade Master who turned and saw the bridge up ahead was indeed out and it led straight into the dark abyss below. She was about to convert her Keyblade into the Keyblade Rider form but she had to turn and cut through a toy soldier Heartless before she could and there were a lot on its tail.

"What are we going to do?" Jessie asked. Woody looked around frantically for some sort of escape but he couldn't find one. They both looked straight ahead, watching as the end of the line got closer and closer.

"It's like the last episode of Woody's Roundup, only this time, I think I know how it ends!" Jessie shouted fearfully. The Mine Train was quickly approaching the end of the tracks as Woody and Jessie held onto each other for dear life, Aqua still keeping the Heartless at bay.

"AAAH! THIS IS THE PART WHERE WE FALL OFF!" Woody shouted. Suddenly…

"NOT TODAY!" a voice shouted. Almost instantly and from out of nowhere a red laser beam vaporized the cars with the Heartless on them. Woody, Jessie, and Aqua found their mine car flying towards the other side in midair, surrounded by a large Reflega shield. They looked over the edge and saw Buzz pushing the mine car and Sora on the front, holding up the Reflega.

"HA-HA! NOW **THAT'S** TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!" Woody shouted with joy. He then noticed the car fly up and over the canyon wall.

"Uh, Buzz! You missed the tracks!" Aqua shouted.

"We're not aiming for the tracks!" Sora replied as Buzz lowered the mine car onto the ground and Sora banished the Reflega shield. Before them was a steam locomotive, smoke billowing upwards from its stack as it idled in place. One of the passenger coaches was definitely Zurg themed. One of the cars was a flatbed with a metal cage on its back with what appeared to be a three headed plastic sheep inside it. Standing on the roof of each car and coach were dozens of the Toy Soldier Heartless. Woody and Jessie spotted a portly looking man in a red shirt, blue denim overalls, boots, a worn old cowboy hat, a white plastic ring attached to a pull string on his back, and a white beard and moustache holding a pickaxe, loading one of the coaches with sacks of gold. The five approached the man quietly.

"Reach for the sky." Woody said slowly as the man jumped slightly and whirled around to face the toys and Keyblade wielders. Buzz had his laser trained on his forehead.

"Aah! Woody! Jessie! Why what brings you here?" Stinky Pete asked innocently.

"You know why we're here Stinky Pete! You stole Bo Peep's sheep, so we're here to get them back!" Woody said as Stinky Pete tried his best to look innocent.

"Oh now come, come, Woody. Why would I steal sheep? Do I look like a thief to you?" Stinky Pete asked as Aqua noticed something was amiss and kicked one of the gold sacks over.

"Where did you get the gold, Prospector? All throughout the Woody's Roundup series, you looked for gold yet never found any. So where did this come from? Who paid you off? Zurg?" Aqua asked as Stinky Pete looked her over curiously.

"You're a fan aren't you?" Stinky Pete asked.

"Yep, and until now, I was one of yours. Where did you get the gold Stinky?" Aqua asked aiming her Keyblade to his neck. Prospector stuttered and blabbered unintelligently. Buzz then noticed something and quickly pulled Aqua out of the way just in time for what looked like a bowling ball to hit the ground where she was standing and explode in a burst of dark magic.

"What the-?" Sora asked. Prospector smirked and quickly swung himself up onto the roof of the train car with his pickaxe where they saw the one person who, aside from Sora and Aqua, was completely out of place with the toy world.

"Hello kiddies! Enjoying your playtime?" Pete laughed with Stinky Pete standing next to him, the Prospector holding a stick of TNT in his hand and a match in the other. (A/N: To avoid confusion, Disney Pete will be simply Pete, while the Prospector will be either the latter or Stinky Pete).

"Pete! What are you doing here?" Sora asked as he and Aqua dropped into a battle stance.

"Oh I'm just here getting some new toys for the master! Oh and nice new coat." Pete said, noticing Aqua's haori.

"What have you done Pete?" Aqua asked angrily.

"Oh I'm just helping two fine Heartless villains get what they want so they'll join Master Xehanort's forces of Darkness. The Prospector wants gold, and wants to be rid of the space toys. My other friend wants one space toy in particular. (Ahem) Oh Zurg!" Pete called as a hatch on the top of the purple train car opened up and from it arose a fierce looking armored warrior in purple armor with a black with red lined chest plate, a long black cape with red interior and a tall collar swept away from the head. The head of the figure itself was in a hideous yellow frown and two glowing red angry eyes. Two backward swept horns were mounted on the side of its head. In its right hand was a massive tri-barreled gun with a dial on it with numbers going from one to eleven, and a hose running up from the back of the gun around to a backpack on the figure.

"So, we meet again Buzz Lightyear, for the last time!" the figure said with a deep voice, causing its teeth to light up in sync with its words. Buzz dropped into a fighting stance.

"Not today, Zurg!" Buzz said as Zurg aimed the weapon at Buzz.

"Dah! Lookout, he's got a Zurg-a-tronic Ion Blaster!" Sora exclaimed but Zurg didn't fire.

"I don't understand what's going on Prospector. What does all this have to do with Bo Peep's sheep?" Woody asked curiously. The Prospector simply chuckled and rested against the top of his pickaxe.

"Oh come on Woody, what would I do with a dumb animal?" Prospector asked. Jessie glared at him angrily.

"You take that back you crud munching-lousy-no good-critter napper!" Jessie snapped as Woody and Aqua restrained her.

"Oh Jessie, we've known each other for so long and been friends for the same amount of time. Let's not make our final farewells difficult by pointing fingers shall we? Truth is, we needed the sheep, because we knew it would draw out your friend, Buzz Lightweight!" Prospector said as Pete grinned and nodded.

"Yep, because Zurg here won't leave until he destroys the Space Ranger toy, so we needed to draw him out." Pete explained.

"You had to have known that Jessie and I would have come after you too, Prospector! You did after all steal from Bo Peep which drew me out, and kidnapped a critter which drew out Jessie! You knew we were going to come after you." Woody accused as Pete laughed again.

"That's what the mine cars were meant for." Pete replied.

"So what do you get out of all this, Prospector?" Woody asked angrily.

"I get the gold I've busted my stuffing for all my life, as well as get rid of the no good space toy, and get my revenge on the flea ridden, hand-me-down, cowboy doll who stabbed me in the back!" Prospector yelled angrily.

"You gave me no choice Prospector! You were trying to blow up Buzz!" Woody argued.

"I'm sure you think you are all so smart, but we've got a train to catch! So then…!" Pete exclaimed before putting his fingers to his mouth and making a shrill whistle. Instantly the Toy Soldier Heartless leapt down towards the five with their claws ready for the attack. The train whistle blew and the engine started moving, pulling the cars behind it down the track.

"See ya 'round!" Pete laughed as he and Prospector leapt down into the train coach beneath them. Zurg however started firing his gun at Buzz, but the Space Ranger rolled out of the way of the blasts and managed to grab a hold of the caboose and start to climb up as it rolled down the track. Sora and Aqua quickly cut down the Heartless in record time just as the train started picking up speed.

"It's moving too fast! We'll never catch it in time!" Jessie exclaimed. Sora and Aqua looked at each other and smirked.

"Oh yes we will!" Sora said as he and Aqua summoned their Keyblade Riders.

"Hop on!" Aqua shouted. Jessie leapt onto her back as Woody hopped on with Sora and they immediately took off to confront the villains before it was too late.

* * *

**End Chapter 32.**


	33. A Toy Story Part 3

Sora and Aqua's Keyblade Riders flew alongside of the train, finally reaching an empty flatbed where Woody and Jessie leapt off and onto the train. Sora and Aqua flew over and onto the flatbed, dismissing their Keyblade Riders.

"Sora! You help Buzz! Woody, you go after the Prospector! Jessie, find the sheep! I'll go after Pete!" Aqua shouted as Sora started heading to the back of the train where Buzz and Zurg were still battling each other. Aqua, Woody, and Jessie started running towards the engine. As Sora climbed up onto the top of the train car he was suddenly attacked by more of the toy soldier heartless.

"Oh no you don't!" Sora yelled as he summoned his Keyblade and started attacking the heartless. He quickly started using Blizzaga and freezing the heartless in place until finally he had built up enough energy to enter the Diamond Dust Command Style. The powerful barrage of ice magic quickly started knocking the heartless of the train, destroying them on impact. Sora finally cleared the Heartless and was about to leap onto Zurg's train car when the Evil Emperor himself turned and fired a shot at him, causing Sora to quickly raise his Keyblade and block but the force of the blast knocked him back towards the front of the car and almost off the side. He was now dangling off the side of the car by his hands, struggling to find something to grab a hold of and pull himself back up.

"UH A LITTLE HELP HERE?" Sora shouted as he held on for dear life. Suddenly he felt a hand grab him by the wrist. He looked up to see a certain spiky haired blond grinning at him. Sora looked at his left shoulder and there rested a metal shoulder guard. It was Ven. Ven quickly pulled Sora onto the train car where Sora caught his breath.

"Thanks Ven you really-…huh?" Sora asked as he looked around but didn't see Ven anywhere. Sora climbed to his feet and noticed that Buzz and Zurg were still fighting, Buzz using his jetpack to nimbly avoid Zurg's attacks while firing a few of his own back with his red wrist laser. A determined look swept Sora's face and he slammed his fist down on his shoulder guard, activating his armor before leaping back off the side of the train and summoning his Keyblade rider simultaneously, falling back to where Buzz was flying.

"Need a hand?" Sora asked Buzz as he threw his hand forward towards Zurg and fired a Thundaga at the Evil Emperor.

"Much obliged Sora!" Buzz replied as Sora spotted something in the distance along the tracks. A sharp turn with a switch leading to a dead end track that led to the bottom of a huge ravine.

"Buzz! I've got a plan! Keep distracting Zurg!" Sora shouted as he flew low alongside the train. Zurg tried to blast him a couple of times but Sora thought to use Reflega and luckily the blasts had no effect. Sora managed to make it to the very front of the train car, landing on the car immediately ahead of Zurg's own. He dismissed his Keyblade Rider, summoning his Keyblade instead. He then aimed his Keyblade at the coupling between the two cars and in a flash a blue beam of light shot from the edge of Sora's Keyblade, instantly causing the two train cars to become uncoupled. Zurg's train car and the caboose behind it began to slow down. Back on the top, Buzz managed to land on the caboose and was expertly dodging and weaving around Zurg's attacks as he ran towards the Evil Emperor. Zurg suddenly fired a shot right at where Buzz was about to run and the resulting blast launched him into the air towards the Emperor, only to face plant and skid up towards the Emperor's feet.

"Surrender Buzz Lightyear, I have won!" Zurg declared proudly.

"I'll never give in! You killed my father!" Buzz replied.

"No Buzz, I am your father." Zurg replied.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Buzz shouted in horror. In the meantime the train cars had slowed down enough that there was quite a distance between the train and Zurg's car. Sora had flown ahead to the switch and was waiting for the train to finish passing over the switch and around the bend before throwing the switch. The points changed and Zurg's car was now on a deadly course into a large canyon. Sora quickly leapt back onto his Keyblade Rider just as the oblivious Zurg aimed his weapon at the helpless Space Ranger.

"Prepare to die, Buzz Lightyear." Zurg said.

"NOT TODAY ZURG!" Sora shouted as he flew in and blasted Zurg with a Blizzaga, freezing the Evil Emperor in place and allowing Buzz the time necessary to leap up and activate his jetpack just as the train car went careening off the track and into the canyon.

"W-what-NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!" Zurg shouted as he plunged into the black abyss.

"We did it! We finally defeated Zurg!" Sora shouted as Buzz sniffled.

"Father." He croaked tearfully as he hovered in midair.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Aqua, Woody, and Jessie were running atop the train cars towards the front, Aqua cutting down the heartless in their path as they ran. Suddenly Jessie dropped down into one of the cars.

"Jessie!" Woody shouted as he hurried to the hole in the car, but was relieved to see that Jessie had fallen into the train car with Bo Peep's Sheep and Prospector's large sacks of gold.

"I'm okay! You guys keep on going!" Jessie shouted as Woody and Aqua turned and started back towards the engine.

"Now what to do with all this gold." Jessie said as she looked around and spotted a door on the back of the car. A mischievous smirk swept her face.

"This'll teach the Prospector to insult critters to my face." Jessie said as she straightened her hat with both hands and set about doing what she had planned. Meanwhile Aqua and Woody continued running for the engine, until they reached a flatbed truck where Pete stood with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"You again?" Aqua asked as she and Woody leapt down onto the flatbed.

"Well-well-well, looks like miss high-and-mighty Keyblade Master decides to try and be a hero!" Pete mocked as Aqua turned to Woody.

"You deal with the Prospector, I'll handle Pete." Aqua said before she fired a Blizzaga at Pete, freezing him in place long enough for Woody to get past him and continue towards the engine.

"Burrr! Wow that's cold! You might just be worthy enough to take on the mighty Pete!" Pete said as Aqua scoffed.

"Please, don't think I forgot about you, Captain Justice or Captain Dark, or whatever you called yourself back then. You're nothing but a petty schemer and cowardly lowlife. You're hardly a threat." Aqua said as Pete laughed.

"You might say so now, but watch THIS!" Pete replied as he snapped his fingers and instantly summoned a pair of Invisible Type Heartless. Aqua quickly summoned her armor as Pete laughed.

"See if you can get through this!" Pete laughed. There was suddenly a brief flash causing Pete to pause. He looked and saw both Heartless instantly explode, releasing their hearts. He gasped as he turned towards Aqua and realized that she had slain them in an instant.

"Next." She said as Pete shrieked like a girl and started running towards the engine with Aqua close behind.

"Get outta my way!" Pete shouted as he ran with Aqua in hot pursuit. They reached the engine where Woody and Prospector were staring each other down as if in a classic western showdown. Pete's hollering caught both of their attention just as Pete crashed into the Prospector, pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of me you idiot!" Prospector grunted from under Pete. However he was dissuaded when he noticed a certain Keyblade being pointed in his face.

"I think it's time the both of you learned the true meaning of playtime." Aqua said as Woody quickly pulled on a lever, slamming on the breaks and stopping the train. Woody then leaned out the side window of the train and turned to face the back where he spotted something.

"Hey, what's that falling out of that one car back there?" Woody asked as Aqua peeked out and grinned.

"That would be all of the Prospector's gold." Aqua replied.

"WHAT? NO-HO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Prospector sobbed.

* * *

**Later, back in town…**

Prospector, Pete, and Zurg (Who had miraculously survived his fall, albeit a little banged up), were each locked up in the town jail and the gold was being put inside of the town bank, Hamm being a little too small to hold it all. Woody, Buzz, and Jessie were standing on the porch of the Sheriff's office as Woody addressed the townsfolk.

"It is with great pride and honor, that I hereby award Sora and Aqua, with these badges as honorary Deputies." Woody announced as Buzz handed Sora a gold star with the word "Honorary Deputy" written on it and Jessie handed one to Aqua. Instantly the townsfolk applauded as Woody shook both their hands.

"Well, I wish we could stay longer, but we really need to be going." Aqua said as Woody nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, well. We knew this was coming." Woody said as Sora smirked and turned to Buzz.

"I'll see you around Mrs. Nesbit." Sora said, surprising Buzz.

"What? How did you know about that?" Buzz asked.

"What are you talking about Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora smiled and turned back to Buzz.

"Lift your left foot and show us the bottom of it." Sora said as Buzz smiled and complied. Written on the bottom of Buzz's foot in what seemed like permanent marker, was the name "Sora."

"I knew it! You are our old toys!" Aqua said as Woody and Jessie smiled and nodded.

"We hoped you'd figure that out." Jessie said as Aqua turned back to Sora.

"Now how did you figure it out Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora smiled.

"When Woody told Buzz to be careful and not let Mrs. Nesbit make a comeback, I remembered the one time that I accidently left Buzz at Kairi's house. She decided to put him in a small pink apron that with a little hat and add him to her tea party. I didn't find out about it until the next day when I came back over to retrieve Buzz and saw him in the get up." Sora said as Aqua, Woody, and Jessie snickered.

"Oh nice." Aqua said as Buzz sighed.

"I was undercover, trying to find out which of those Barbie dolls was in league with Emperor Zurg's latest scheme." Buzz replied but Woody scoffed.

"Uh huh, sure. Now how did you figure it out Aqua?" Woody asked as Aqua smiled and turned to Jessie.

"The storage thing gave it away. Master Eraqus had sent us away on a mission one day and while we were gone, cleaned out our rooms. He showed us where everything was that he had put away, and said that it was time we grew up and focused on our training. Sometime later, we were looking for something in the closet and Terra stumbled upon the box of our old Woody's Roundup toys. We each took the opportunity to have one last look at the toys which brightened our childhood all those years ago before finally placing them back in the box and locking them away again." Aqua explained as Sora scratched his chin.

"Then how did they get here?" Sora asked as Aqua sighed.

"When my world fell into Darkness, I suspect that it sent Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, Stinky Pete, and all of our old toys here. Then when the Destiny Islands fell into darkness, the same thing happened with Buzz, Zurg, and the others." Aqua said as Sora shrugged.

"It makes sense." Sora said as the others nodded.

"We knew that you would come back and see us soon." Woody said as Jessie and Buzz smiled at their former owners.

"I'm glad you guys found somewhere where you can be happy." Sora said as Aqua nodded in agreement.

"And with that…we really have to go." Aqua said as the others nodded understandingly.

"Remember you're always welcome here." Jessie said as she, Woody, and Aqua hugged. Buzz and Sora both stood at attention and gave each other a salute.

"Take care out there Space Ranger." Buzz said with a smile.

"You too, Buzz." Sora said before he and Aqua walked into the street and summoned their armor and Keyblade Riders. They took one last look at their old toys, who smiled at them and waved as the two took to the stars, leaving a world of memories behind in their wake.

**…**

"Hey, Aqua?" Sora asked as they flew through space, towards nowhere in particular.

"Hmm?"

"What'll happen to us?" Sora asked.

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.

"I mean, when Ven and Terra's restored and Xehanort's been defeated. What'll happen to the two of us?" Sora asked.

"I suppose that, Ven, Terra and I will go back and start trying to restore our homeworld, and you, Riku, and Kairi will go back to the Destiny Islands." Aqua replied as Sora glanced away.

"Oh." He said disheartedly.

"What's wrong?" Aqua asked.

"I just…I…I don't want us to get separated is all. I've gotten used to you being around, Master. You've become more than just my Master, you've become my friend." Sora said as Aqua looked at him.

"Sora, just because there might be a great distance between us physically, doesn't mean that we stop being friends. We'll always be together in our hearts, no matter the distance between us." Aqua said as Sora looked at her.

"You think so?" Sora asked as Aqua laughed.

"I know so. In fact, being on that world with our old toys, reminded me of a song from the old Woody's Roundup show, that seems to be just right for the occasion." Aqua replied.

"I think I know the one you're talking about. Ven remembers it too." Sora said as Aqua laughed. (Music Cue: You've got a friend in me – Disney's Toy Story.)

"Alright, Sora, I'll start." Aqua said before she started singing…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

Then Sora sang…

_"You've got a friend in me._  
_When the road looks rough ahead_  
_and you're miles and miles_  
_from your nice warm bed."_

Then Aqua replied…

_"You just remember what your old pal said,_  
_you've got a friend in me._  
_Yeah, you've got a friend in me."_

Then Sora started singing…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

And Aqua replied…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

Then Sora added…

_"If you've got troubles…"_

And Aqua replied…

_"…I've got 'em too,_  
_There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you."_

Sora then sang…

_"We stick together, we can see it through_  
_cause you've got a friend in me."_

Then Aqua sang as they moved their Keyblade Riders closer…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

Then Sora sang…

_"Some other folks might be_  
_A little bit smarter than I am."_

Before Aqua replied…

_"Bigger and stronger too."_

"Maybe." Sora said with a shrug before Aqua continued…

_"But none of them will ever love you_  
_the way I do."_

Then they both sang…

_"It's me and you."_

Then Aqua sang…

_"And as the years go by."_

And Sora replied…

_"Our friendship will never die."_

Before both sang as a shooting star passed by them…

_"You're gonna see it's our destiny."_

Then Aqua sang…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

And Sora replied…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

Then they both finished…

_"You've got a friend in me."_

(End Music.)

"Are you convinced now?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah. I think I-…NGH!" Sora grunted as Aqua quickly whirled around to look at him. What she saw chilled her to the bone. His armor was rapidly changing colors between Sora's and Ven's armor coloring and there was a strange glow coming from his chest. Sora was convulsing violently, thrashing about like mad.

"AQUA!" Sora said with a mixture of his own and Ven's voice.

"Oh no, SORA! HOLD ON!" Aqua shouted as she quickly grabbed Sora and threw him over her shoulder, just as his Keyblade Rider vanished. She then turned her Keyblade Rider around and immediately rocketed off into the stars, bound for the place that she had wanted to see for quite a while.

"Home."

* * *

**End Chapter 33.**

Ven's reawakening is nigh. Find out what happens in the next chapters.

The song above was "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Disney's Toy Story. I did no alterations to the lyrics.


	34. Return to Oblivion

Aqua's Keyblade Rider was literally screaming as it flew towards the world barrier of a clouded and dark world, far from the other worlds out there. Sora was now unconscious over her shoulder in a fireman's lift as they continued flying.

"_This is it, Ven. We're almost there."_ She said mentally as her Keyblade Rider soared through thick black clouds as lightning cracked and flashed all around them. Finally the clouds lifted slightly, revealing a small rocky landing area. She quickly touched down and dismissed her Keyblade Rider and armor. She carefully laid Sora down on the ground, putting a hand to his shoulder piece to dismiss his now multicolored armor. When the armor vanished she gasped in shock at what she saw. Sora was now a strange hybrid between himself and Ven's appearances. His hair was a mixture of brown and blond hairs in a wildly spiked arrangement. His clothes were even a mixed hybrid of Sora's and Ven's clothes.

"Sora…Ven…speak to me, come on!" Aqua pleaded as she tried to shake Sora/Ven awake but all she got was a tired groan. Aqua gritted her teeth and picked Sora/Ven up onto her shoulder before turning and carrying them down the faint outline of a road shrouded in a thick black fog. Finally the clouds parted and she stopped as she saw before her, the massive twisted and disoriented castle that was once her homeworld, the world once known as the Land of Departure but transformed into…

…Castle Oblivion.

"Almost there. Almost there." Aqua repeated as she continued carrying Sora/Ven closer to the front doors of the Castle. She paused and set down her Apprentice onto the ground for a moment before summoning her Keyblade and pointing it at the door to the Castle. Almost instantly a blue circle of light, several noticeable shades lighter than Sora's, started to form around the tip of the Keyblade. She didn't notice as Sora/Ven opened a pair of tired eyes just in time for a beam of light to shoot from the tip of Aqua's Keyblade and strike the large double doors, causing them to glow a bright white for a moment before slowly opening. Aqua then turned to see Sora/Ven standing on their own two feet.

"Sora-er-Ven! Are you alright?" Aqua asked as they remained silent. They looked at the castle and a faint glow appeared in Ven's heart.

"Home." Sora/Ven said as they stared walking towards and into the castle, Aqua following close behind. Once they were inside, the doors closed shut behind them.

"Chain of Memories…Unbroken?" Sora/Ven asked as they looked themselves over.

"Riku told me about what happened to you here Sora, and it shouldn't happen again. Namine was the reason your memories were tampered with but since she's not here, your memories will remain intact. Come on, we've got to get to the Thirteenth Floor and quickly." Aqua said as they walked towards and up the stairs, unaware of the dark figure that entered through the front doors not long afterwards.

**…**

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the Master and Apprentice to reach the thirteenth floor, a fact which confused Sora/Ven.

"Rooms?" Sora/Ven asked, referring to the curious absence of all the rooms that he had to pass through on each floor.

"After you lost your Heart, Ven, I remembered something Master Eraqus told me after I became a master. He said he was the world's protector and should anything happen to him, that I would need to seal the World's Keyhole and recreate the world so only I knew the layout and structure. I did as he instructed and recreated our homeworld into this one. I created Castle Oblivion. It was intended to be a safe place to hide your body while your heart was lost and it would also cause any and all unwelcomed guests to become lost in oblivion, hence the name." Aqua explained as they continued walking. They finally reached the room where Namine was once held captive.

"Okay Sora-err-Ven. This is it." Aqua said as she stared at the closed door that led to the area where Sora fought Marluxia. She raised her Keyblade towards the door and once again, the circle of blue light followed by the matching beam shot from the tip of her Keyblade, striking the door, causing it to glow a bright white for a second before the frame around the door completely morphed and changed, from the usual design to largely resemble Ven's Keyblade, Wayward Wind, appearing as the posts on either side and on top of the frame.

"There it is. The Chamber of Waking." Aqua said as she turned to Sora/Ven whose heart was now glowing noticeably brighter than before.

"Inside we'll find your body asleep. I put a bit of magic on it to make sure that your body didn't age or die without your heart so you'll be as good as you were before you lost your heart." Aqua said as Sora/Ven smiled up at her. They were about to start walking towards the door when they suddenly felt a cold chill run down their spines and the sound of footsteps behind them. Aqua froze in horror at what it was.

"No. It can't be!" She said as she spun around to see none other than Xehanort standing in the doorway leading from the floor below, his hands clasped behind his back as usual, and a dark smile across his face.

"At last, after years of searching. The Chamber of Waking, within my grasp finally at last." Xehanort said as Aqua summoned her Keyblade. Sora/Ven spun around with both Sora's Keyblade and Ven's Keyblade summoned in both hands though held like Roxas would wield them.

"You followed us!" Aqua exclaimed angrily as Xehanort grinned.

"Quite so, my dear Aqua. I was watching this world carefully, and when I finally saw you and Sora…or Ven, or whoever he is at the moment, head this way I knew the time had finally come. I must say, you hid the Chamber of Waking quite well. Xemnas was unable to find it during his time in leading Organization XIII, and nor could I…until now that is." Xehanort explained as Aqua gritted her teeth at the lord of darkness.

"Back off Xehanort! I will fight you to the death if I have to, but you will not touch Ven." Aqua warned as Xehanort chuckled maliciously.

"You cannot stop me. Not when I have some old friends of Sora's to entertain you both." Xehanort said as he raised his hands to his sides, causing his hands to glow with a black and grey aura and a pair of black and grey orbs appeared on either side of him. One had an image of a scythe within it and had pink flower petals floating around it while the other had an image of three kunai and bolts of electricity encircling it. In an instant the orbs burst open in pillars of darkness, fading out to reveal two hooded figures. One of them had the heeled boots of the female members. They pulled back their hoods to reveal themselves as Marluxia and Larxene. Aqua and Sora/Ven looked at each other and started backing away towards the door as the two Absent Silhouettes started approaching them, their weapons primed. Marluxia was staring down Sora/Ven, while Larxene stared down Aqua. Xehanort laughed sinisterly as he watched the two Keyblade wielders back away.

"You see? You cannot deal with both of them, AND me at the same time!" Xehanort laughed.

"THAT IS WHAT YOU THINK, XEHANORT!" a deep voice shouted from behind Xehanort, just as he was blasted with a powerful Thundaga blast and knocked to the floor. Aqua and Sora/Ven were stunned at the sight. Xehanort growled angrily and leapt up before turning to see the same blue bandaged man who had attacked him in Twilight Town.

"You again?" Xehanort growled.

"Leave this place! NOW!" the man roared angrily.

"And what are you going to do to stop me old man?" Xehanort shouted angrily as the man reached for the bandages on his face, ripping them free and revealing the familiar bearded face of none other than…

"Ansem the Wise!" Aqua exclaimed as Xehanort growled.

"You were supposed to be dead!" Xehanort yelled but Ansem quickly pulled a sword from its sheath and swung it at Xehanort who quickly blocked with his large and black thorned Keyblade.

"Fool! I was not killed when my device exploded! I was merely sent to the Realm of Darkness where I met Aqua! Then when Sora came along, the Door to the Light opened for the two of them, and I followed close behind! I retook the disguise of Darkness in Zero, because it was all that I remembered. Eventually my memories were restored and now, I know what must be done! I must destroy you like I should have, ten YEARS **AGO!**" Ansem yelled angrily as he and Xehanort began to duel with sword and Keyblade. Aqua suddenly felt something in her pocket start to shake violently. She reached inside and pulled out Terra's armor piece which was shaking and glowing with a red aura.

"_Xe-ha-nort…XEHA-NORT…__**XEHANORT!**__"_ the sound of Terra's Lingering Sentiment's voice echoed as in a bright burst of swirling brown sand and red light, the Lingering Sentiment returned, Keyblade at the ready to do battle once again and with its "eyes" fixed on its rightful, albeit possessed, body. Xehanort spotted the Sentiment and his eyes widened and shock and fear.

"No-NO! Stay back!" Xehanort roared as he suddenly let free a powerful shockwave of dark magic, sending Ansem flying into the wall, dropping the sword to the ground with a clatter. The sentiment immediately charged at Xehanort who quickly leapt out of the way and started to summon a Corridor of Darkness around him.

"Curse you fools! You may have driven me away for now, but this! Isn't! Over!" Xehanort yelled at them as he disappeared in the Corridor of Darkness. The Sentiment attempted to catch him but failed as the Corridor disappeared along with Xehanort. Marluxia and Larxene however were still very much present. The Lingering Sentiment quickly slid in between Sora/Ven and Marluxia, Keyblade raised for combat.

"Sora! Ven! Go! Terra and I can handle these two!" Aqua ordered as Sora/Ven dismissed their Keyblades and ran through the open doors to the Chamber of Waking, leaving Aqua and Terra's Sentiment behind to deal with the Absent Silhouettes. The doors behind Sora/Ven slammed shut with a deafening thud causing Aqua to grin.

"He's in, now we just need to make sure things don't go interrupted for him." Aqua said as she turned to glance at the Lingering Sentiment who immediately leapt into battle with Marluxia. Aqua quickly summoned her armor and then charged into battle with Larxene.

**…**

Behind the doors, Sora/Ven was running down a long hallway. As they ran, it began getting harder and harder to run until finally they reached another pair of double doors at the end of the hall. They pushed the door open and revealed a large white circular room adorned with the symbol of the Mark of Mastery along the walls like the Nobody symbol was in the room where Aqua's armor and Keyblade had been stored in Radiant Garden. Near the opposite wall rested a large and majestic white throne and in it sat a slumbering yet very familiar face…Ventus.

Sora/Ven started approaching the slumbering boy, the strain on Sora's body becoming unbearable until finally they collapsed onto the ground in the dead center of the room. Sora/Ven pushed on the ground and managed to roll over onto their back just as everything went dark.

"Where…where am I?" A voice asked.

Ven opened his eyes. He was no longer on the throne, he was standing upon a stained glass pillar like in the Station of Awakening. The image on the ground was of him, laying asleep on the throne in Castle Oblivion. Floating in the air overhead and around the arena were large round stained glass columns on their sides, jutting out from the dark void around him. The images on the windows were of Sora, Roxas, and Xion, each asleep. He looked and saw his faithful Keyblade in his hand and his armor piece on his shoulder, but he didn't notice the swirling black spot appearing on the opposite side of the pillar.

"Well-well-well. Looks like the idiot manages to make it back after all." A voice sounding similar to Sora's except with a definite malicious tone said, from out of nowhere. Ven, recognizing the voice, quickly dropped into his battle stance. All of a sudden, from the black spot arose a figure clad in a form fitting black and red bodysuit which appeared quite similar to Riku's Dark Form. The figure had a face strikingly similar to Sora's but with black hair, pail skin, and distinct yellow eyes, coupled with a malicious grin on his face.

"Vanitas!" Ven exclaimed as the evil Sora doppelganger grinned.

"Thought you would be rid of me that easily Ven? You really are an idiot. Did you think that just defeating me and destroying the X-Blade would completely destroy me? The dark part of our heart remained within your body, dormant and waiting for you to return." Vanitas explained as Ven grit his teeth in anger.

"Get out of my heart!" Ven ordered but Vanitas let a maniacal laugh loose.

"Like you have a choice! As long as I'm here, your heart will forever remained fragmented." Vanitas chuckled sinisterly.

"You're wrong!" Ven replied, causing Vanitas to arch a curious eyebrow.

"Oh? And how am I wrong?" Vanitas sneered with his arms crossed.

"I was able to exist easily without you before Xehanort split my heart into two. For a long time after my heart was lost, I wondered how I could ever restore my heart to its original form. Then finally, Sora lost his heart to the Darkness, but got it back. In the process he created a Nobody, which without that Nobody, he would never be able to be a whole being again. When Roxas finally returned to Sora, it revealed to me what I…what we have to do. We have to become one again Vanitas…but this time, I'm going to be the one in charge." Ven said as Vanitas gave him an amused look before throwing back his head and laughing in absolute hysteria.

"You are AN **IDIOT!**" Vanitas cried in sheer amusement but Ven retained his serious expression.

"Do you really think that you'll be able to overpower me and retake your body?" Vanitas asked, still laughing. Suddenly there was the sound of cracking glass heard from the three circling stained glass windows and Vanitas instantly stopped laughing and started looking around. The windows of Sora, Roxas, and Xion were cracking.

"What is this?" Vanitas asked in confusion.

"You want to know how I'm going to overpower you, well this is how!" Ven shouted before the windows shattered and from them fired large beams of powerful radiant light that converged in the center over the pillar that Ven and Vanitas were standing on, creating a single powerful orb of light that shone down upon the two of them, empowering Ven and weakening Vanitas.

"Sora has leant me the light he carries within his heart, and now, we are going to end this Vanitas, once and for all!" Ven said as he started walking towards Vanitas who dropped to one knee in agony from the light. Ven finally was standing before Vanitas who looked up at him with a look of anger and horror. A light then appeared around Ven as the pillar they were on started to shake. Vanitas then started to glow with the same light before he let out an agonized yell before the light enveloped them both.

* * *

**Back outside the Chamber…**

Aqua and Terra's Sentiment were still battling Larxene and Marluxia's Absent Silhouettes with unrelenting fervor. Just then the entire castle started shaking, causing the fights to stop immediately.

"Huh?" Aqua asked, confused. Suddenly brief yet blinding flashes of light started appearing in various places inside the castle, transforming the once pristine white walls into ruined walls, fixtures, or completely vanishing. Terra's Lingering Sentiment took the opportunity while Marluxia was preoccupied and quickly swung at the Graceful Assassin, knocking him across the room and into Larxene, carrying them both towards and into the wall. Aqua looked at the Sentiment curiously before its Keyblade suddenly morphed into the massive cannon of Terra's Shoot Lock, Ultima Cannon. Aqua quickly grabbed the unconscious Ansem the Wise and hurried towards the doors to the Chamber of Waking just as Terra's Sentiment fired the Ultima Cannon, releasing a blinding flash of light. When it faded, Aqua found herself holding Terra's armor piece in her hand as if by magic.

"Terra." She said softly before suddenly she saw a bolt of electricity streak through the room. Aqua dropped Ansem and raised her Keyblade just in time as Larxene, who had managed to escape the blast, flew in with a sadistic grin on her face and her kunai prepped. Aqua was about to attack the Savage Nymph when suddenly she heard…

"AQUA!"

Without warning, a blond haired blur flew past her and Larxene, though Larxene was knocked into the wall. Aqua watched as the Savage Nymph attempted to climb onto her feet but she soon saw herself start to turn transparent. She then started screaming in anger as she finally faded away, ending her sadistic tendencies forever. The castle then started shaking even more violently. Aqua quickly grabbed Ansem again, throwing him over her shoulder and turning towards the way they came. As she did though, she saw…

"Ven!" Aqua exclaimed in surprise.

"Aqua! RUN!" Ven replied as he ran past her and back into the chamber.

"But, Sora!" she shouted after him.

"I'll deal with him, just RUN!" Ven shouted back. Aqua didn't even argue as she ran for the exit, the castle going through some form of metamorphosis all around her. No sooner had she made it outside the castle, than she turned and looked up at Castle Oblivion and suddenly a bright flash of light engulfed the entire world. Aqua shielded herself from the bright light until suddenly things fell silent. The ground stopped moving and there was a gentle breeze passing by. She could even hear the faint chirping of crickets. She lowered her arm, and opened her eyes and was stunned at what she saw.

"What? How can this be?" she asked as she looked at what was once a majestic and grand castle, now lying ruined in the cool night air. It was Castle Oblivion no longer, instead it had returned to its original form as…

"The Land of Departure." Aqua said breathlessly as she took in the scene. It was no longer surrounded by a swirling darkness nor did it have a massive black orb of darkness overhead. Just the stars. It was still in ruins, but it was still there. She then felt someone tapping her on the shoulder.

"I don't think I'm completely helpless." Ansem said as Aqua quickly set him down.

"Sorry." Aqua said as Ansem dusted himself off with an understanding nod.

"It is alright…though weren't there two of you?" Ansem asked as Aqua's eyes widened and she turned towards the castle.

"Oh no…Sora! Ven!" She shouted as she started running towards the castle ruins but froze when she saw a figure appear in the main doorway.

"Who's there?" She asked as she summoned her Keyblade. No response.

"I said, who's there?" She called again but the figure remained silent. She dropped into her battle stance until the figure stepped into the light. Aqua's face turned to shock and then her eyes lit up with joy as she recognized who it was.

It was a fully restored Ven, carrying an unconscious Sora in his arms.

* * *

**End Chapter 34.**

Yes, Ven is back…and no, Sora is not dead.


	35. Reconnected

A fully restored Ven, emerged from the ruins of the castle of the also newly restored Land of Departure, with an unconscious Sora in his arms as he walked down the stairs towards Aqua.

"Ven." Aqua said as Ven grinned at her like Sora would, causing her heart to melt.

"Aqua." Ven said as Ansem approached and took Sora from his arms, carrying the unconscious apprentice back towards the ruined courtyard. Aqua and Ven stood staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity before finally rushing into each other, in a deep hug, Aqua surprising him by kissing him on the lips. Ansem watched the scene with a small smile of amusement.

"Hmm…together again, at last." Ansem said as he continued to tend to Sora. Finally Aqua and Ven separated, Ven a little surprised by the kiss.

"Aqua…that was…" Ven said, a little surprised as Aqua blushed a little.

"Ven, it feels like it's been so long! After all that has happened to us and our world and Terra, I almost lost hope of seeing you again." Aqua said as Ven smiled.

"But you didn't. You didn't lose hope. We're together again, just like old times. And we owe it all to Sora." Ven said as a horrified expression swept Aqua's face.

"Oh no, Sora! Is he alright?" She asked as Ven laughed and held her back.

"Relax Aqua. He'll be fine. He just needs some time to regain his strength. It really kinda overwhelmed him to carry almost two hearts inside of him at one time you know. He'll be back to his giddy and naïve self in no time." Ven said as Aqua giggled in response.

"I should still check on him, I am his master after all." Aqua said as Ven nodded and followed after her.

"Is he alright?" Aqua asked as Ansem turned and nodded.

"He will recover. Like the young Ventus said, he only needs time to recover. I've already used what healing power I have on him." Ansem replied as Aqua arched an eyebrow.

"I thought you were a scientist. When did you start using magic?" Aqua asked as Ansem chuckled.

"I had to do something while monitoring Sora's restoration rate for over a year. Learning magic was the best and most constructive recourse I could think of." Ansem answered.

"Well, at least he's in good hands. I owe him my life." Ven said as Aqua nodded.

"What about you and I go see what we can salvage." Aqua said as Ven looked up at her before nodding.

"I shall remain here and keep an eye on Sora." Ansem said as Aqua gave him an appreciative nod.

"Thank you Ansem." Aqua said before she and Ven headed inside the castle.

**…**

"What a mess." Aqua said softly as she picked up a piece of broken pottery off the floor before dropping it again with a crash.

"This is what happens to worlds that fall into darkness?" Ven asked sadly as he pushed on a door, only for it to break off its hinges and crash to the floor.

"Not always. If the darkness completely consumes a world, then if they're restored, then everything that was consumed is restored. Our world was only partially consumed, so the ruined part that didn't get destroyed remains." Aqua replied as Ven opened what used to be a closet, only to find it stark empty with part of it dropping off into an endless abyss.

"Aww, all of our old toys were in here." Ven sighed.

"But they're in a good place." Aqua said with a smile as Ven nodded.

"Yeah. I remember." Ven said as Aqua looked at him curiously.

"What do you remember exactly?" Aqua asked as Ven shrugged.

"I remember you telling Sora that you called me your boyfriend once." Ven said as Aqua blushed nervously.

"Um, Ven I-…I didn't mean to-…-I-I-just-…" Aqua stammered until Ven walked up to her, pulled her down to his level and kissed her on the lips.

"Aqua…" he said as they parted, "…it's okay. I feel the same way."

"Ven." Aqua said softly with a smile on her face.

"When Sora first saw you in the Realm of Darkness, I was asleep until that very moment. Then as Sora grew stronger, I started waking up. I would have brief moment where I would be awake, such as the time in Magician's Bayou before Sora got his and my heart taken. Sora stuck with you, despite that moment when he learned the truth about Xehanort possessing Terra. He was mad, sure, I would be too, but he was beginning to change his mind. Do you know why?" Ven asked as Aqua looked puzzled.

"I imagine because of you." Aqua said as Ven shook his head.

"No, it wasn't because of me. When you told Sora about our adventure that got us all separated, his reason for remaining your apprentice changed. He didn't want to grow stronger for the power or the glory. He wanted to grow stronger so that I could be restored, and that the two of us could be together. He loves you Aqua. He loves you so much, that he wanted to do whatever it took to see you happy. That's just the kind of selfless guy he is." Ven explained as Aqua looked touched.

"Sora…is in love with me?" Aqua asked as Ven nodded.

"Like he is with everyone that's close to him. He sees you as more than just his master. He sees you as his friend." Ven said as Aqua gave an understanding smile.

"He really is a brave little guy. But there's still one thing missing from all this." Aqua said as she motioned to the room around them. Ven sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Terra. We need to find him." Ven said.

"Then we'll find him, rescue him, and then find ourselves a place to live once this is all over." Aqua said, earning a confused look from Ven.

"What? What about this place? This is our home, isn't it Aqua?" Ven asked as Aqua turned back to him with a somber look.

"Look around you Ven. This was our home. Without Terra or Master Eraqus…it's just…not the same. There are too many ghosts here. This isn't home." Aqua said as she ran a hand over a broken wall as she turned and started walking outside towards the old grass covered area where they used to hang out long ago.

"I know. But then where are we supposed to go?" Ven asked as Aqua sat down on one of the broken old thrones.

"We'll find some place. I know we will." Aqua said as Ven smiled and nodded.

"So what about the Land of Departure? What are we supposed to do with it?" Ven asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should leave it alone for now." Aqua said as Ven sighed and sat down next to her. They sat together in silence for a while, looking up at the stars.

"Hey, Aqua. Don't you ever wish that none of this had ever happened?" Ven asked as Aqua looked at him and sighed.

"Yeah. But there's no use in wishing for the past to change, Ven." Aqua said as she stood up.

"I know, but, it's still nice to wonder what it would be like if Xehanort hadn't done all of this." Ven said as Aqua sighed again.

"But think of what wouldn't have happened. Sora would probably not be a Keyblade wielder, nor would you be the same Ven that I-…" Aqua said blushing as she let her sentence drop off.

"You're right. You've always been right Aqua. That's what I…well. You know." Ven said as Aqua smiled at him and turned towards the stars again.

"Hey, Aqua…" Ven said, catching her attention again, "…When did you realize that…well…that you loved me?"

Aqua blushed and giggled slightly.

"I realized it a long time ago. Terra knew and he agreed to keep my secret. When Sora rescued me and Yen Sid explained that your heart was in Sora, I first thought it was going to be an impossible task, training Sora to become a master. But then I remembered something that Master Eraqus told me when he found out about my feelings for you." Aqua said as Ven looked curious. (Music Cue: Love will find a way – Disney's Lion King 2 Simba's Pride.)

"What was that?" Ven asked as Aqua smiled and pulled out her lucky charm. She then started singing as she looked at it…

_"In a perfect world_  
_one we've never known_  
_we would never need to face the worlds alone."_

Aqua sang as she looked up at the stars…

_"They can have the world,_  
_we'll create our own."_

She sang as she then turned to Ven with a smile…

_"I may not be brave or strong or smart_  
_but somewhere in my secret heart"_

She sang as Ven walked up next to her…

_"I know_  
_love will find a way_  
_anywhere I go_  
_I'm home_  
_if you are there beside me…"_

She sang, looking at him and taking a hold of his hand…

_"…Like dark turning into day._  
_Somehow we'll come through_  
_now that I've found you._  
_Love will find a way."_

She then grasped his hand with both hands, her lucky charm dangling from her hands. Then Ven started singing…

_"I was so afraid_  
_Now I realize,_  
_love is never wrong_  
_and so it never dies."_

He sang, causing Aqua to give him a touched look. He then turned and looked into her eyes…

_"There's a perfect world_  
_shining in your eyes."_

Then Aqua joined in as they both sang…

_"And if only they could feel it too_  
_the happiness I feel with you."_

They sang as Ven revealed his own yellow colored lucky charm as they continued, looking into each other's eyes lovingly…

_"They'd know_  
_love will find a way._  
_Anywhere we go_  
_we're home_  
_if we are there together…"_

They then noticed their lucky charms had gotten tangled together as they continued singing…

_"…like dark turning into day._  
_Somehow we'll come through_  
_now that I've found you._  
_Love will find a way."_

They both leaned in for a kiss as they finished…

_"I know love will find a way."_

With that, they kissed once more.

(End music)

* * *

**Back in the courtyard…**

Ansem was sitting Indian style on the ground, writing one of his endless reports in a book in his hand when he noticed Aqua and Ven approaching, holding hands as they did.

"Find anything of value?" Ansem asked as he closed the book and stood up.

"No. There's nothing left." Aqua said as Ansem gave an apologetic nod.

"I understand." Ansem said. They then heard a yawn, and saw Sora sit up and stretch for a moment before lying back down with his hands behind his head. When he did though, he opened his eyes to see Aqua and Ven staring at him upside down.

"Whoa!" Sora yelped as he sat up and crawled onto his feet, eliciting a laugh from Ven and Aqua.

"Give me a break, Aqua." Sora said, crossing his arms.

"Sora, you useless sleepyhead." Aqua said.

"You should've at least brought a blanket." Ven added.

"Oh great, now Ven's fussing at me." Sora said before he realized what he had just said.

"Ven? VEN!" Sora exclaimed as he leapt onto his feet in surprise.

"Are introductions necessary or do I have to remind you who the two of you are to each other?" Aqua asked as the two shook their heads.

"Nah. It's good to finally get to meet you in person though, Ven." Sora said as he and Ven shook hands.

"Same here, though I owe you a lot of thanks for what you've done for me Sora. If it wasn't for you, I probably be wouldn't be here." Ven said as Sora waved off the compliment.

"Not at all. It was my honor to do so." Sora said as Ven smiled. They then heard Ansem clear his throat.

"I do not mean to be a problem, but perhaps we could leave this dead world behind us now. I much long to see my homeworld of Radiant Garden again." Ansem said as the three looked at each other.

"Sure, let's go." Aqua said as Ansem pulled out a small orb from his pocket and tossed it towards the castle. Instantly a Corridor of Darkness opened for them.

"This will lead us back to Radiant Garden?" Sora asked as Ansem nodded.

"It will indeed." Ansem replied.

"Then what are we waiting for. Let's go." Aqua said as they headed for the Corridor. Ansem and Ven passed through first, but Aqua paused in front of it, with Sora behind her.

"Sora…" Aqua said as she turned towards him, "…I just want to say, thanks for everything. Ven told me what your reason for becoming a master was. It means a lot to me."

"It's still not over yet. We've still got to help Terra and I don't want to quit until he's back to his old self." Sora said as Aqua smiled at him

"You really are a good friend." Aqua said before they passed through the Corridor together. However when they emerged from the other side into the castle postern, they hadn't expected to see what lay before them. Radiant Garden was in shambles, Heartless and Nobodies everywhere, the security system was in overdrive. Ven and Ansem had leapt into action, Ven using his Keyblade and Ansem using his magic prowess to strike down Heartless and Nobodies. He was remarkably good. Sora and Aqua wasted no time, jumping into action.

"What's going on here?" Sora asked.

"I don't know!" Ven replied. All of a sudden they saw an axe fly in, cutting through a row of heartless before boomeranging back into the hands of its wielder.

"Firion!" Sora exclaimed as he saw the Weapon Master appear.

"Sora! Aqua! Boy, am I glad to see you guys!" Firion said before knocking an arrow into his bow and destroying a Large Body heartless.

"How long have these guys been attacking?" Aqua asked as she used Bubble Blast to obliterate a small swarm of Heartless and Nobodies.

"Not sure! They had just started attacking when Tina, Stitch, and I arrived! We've been fighting ever since! There are too many of them for the security system to handle!" Firion explained.

"What about Leon and the others?" Sora asked.

"They're still out there as far as I know!" Firion replied. Just then they saw a shield fly in and cut through a few Heartless. It was Goofy and Donald but following Riku.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sora! Where have you been?" Riku asked as he used Dark Firaga to blast a Dancer Nobody.

"Long story! What's going on?" Sora replied.

"Maleficent is attacking with hers and Xehanort's full force!" Riku explained.

"It makes no sense! What do they hope to gain by attacking Radiant Garden?" Aqua asked.

"The Heartless Factory perhaps?" Ansem asked, scorching an approaching Soldier Heartless with a Firaga.

"No, we know what they're after! They got what they came for and these guys are just here to keep us occupied!" Riku said, cutting through a Dusk before turning to Sora with a look of dread.

"Sora, they've got Kairi."

* * *

**End Chapter 35.**

The end is in sight folks. We're on the countdown to the final chapter of this story.

The song above was a slightly altered version of "Love Will Find a Way" from Disney's Lion King II – Simba's Pride.


	36. The Mad Mage & Maleficent

"They WHAT?" Sora asked as he turned to cut through an attacking Shadow Heartless.

"They got here a few hours ago! We held them off as long as we could but then this clown guy appears out of nowhere, grabs Kairi and escapes before I could get to him! She sure put up one heck of a fight though!" Riku explained.

"Kefka! What is he doing here?" Aqua asked angrily as she entered the Magic Wish Command Style and started cutting down the enemies with renewed fervor.

"I think he just said he was here to kidnap Kairi!" Ven replied, entering Speed Rave.

"Where did he take her?" Sora asked.

"I'm not sure, but I can sense a very strong source of darkness coming from the old Heartless Castle. I could be Xehanort and Maleficent over there!" Riku said as he spun and blasted another Heartless with Dark Firaga. Sora immediately drove the front of his Keyblade into the ground, using the Trinity Drive Shoot lock and clearing the area of Heartless and Nobodies.

"We've got to get to that castle!" Aqua said as they quickly regrouped.

"Then you can count me in fellas!" a familiar voice said. They turned to see King Mickey leap down next to them.

"You're majesty!" Sora and Ven exclaimed.

"Nice to have ya back Ven." Mickey said as Ven smiled and nodded.

"I'm kinda beginning to wish I was back in Sora's heart." Ven said wryly.

"Ansem, is there anything you know about the city that can keep it better protected?" Aqua asked as Ansem pondered.

"I can divert all of the power from the Heartless Factory to the defenses. That should improve its potency." Ansem replied.

"Do it. Firion, he might need some escort." Aqua said as Firion nodded.

"Right." Firion replied before he and Ansem headed into the castle.

"Donald, Goofy, go and make sure that Leon and the others get the people to safety." Mickey ordered as Donald and Goofy saluted.

"Yes your majesty!" they replied in unison before running off.

"Okay, I'm not even going to ask how DiZ is still around." Riku said as he and the others started running towards the city walls.

"Better we save the explanation for later, for now we've got a world to save!" Aqua replied as she, Sora, and Ven summoned their armor. Before they could even reach the castle wall, they suddenly saw strange spheres of energy dropping towards the ground, exploding in a strange static filled bubble upon impact.

"LOOK OUT!" Riku shouted as they dove clear of the blast just in time.

"**HEE**-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw! Look who decided to join the party!" Kefka chortled from atop the ruins of the broken wall.

"Kefka!" Aqua growled.

"What have you done with Kairi?" Sora asked angrily.

"Oh she's about to hand over the keys to Xehanort's coveted prize! Kingdom Hearts!" Kefka declared with glee.

"What? Y-You're lying!" Sora argued.

"_You're lying!"_ Kefka mocked in a high pitched voice, "HEH! We'll just see about that now won't we?"

"You're not going to get away with this Kefka! We're going to rescue Kairi even if we have to go through you!" Ven said challengingly.

"Ooh I-see-a-poser!" Kefka said in a sing-song tone causing Aqua and Ven to glare at him angrily.

"You don't look so tough! You're probably a big coward in a clown suit!" Ven taunted, making Kefka grin evilly.

"Ooh I think you and I are going to have some fun! Let me take that weight off your shoulders!" Kefka said before he leapt up and snapped his fingers. All of a sudden three glowing blue triangles appeared around Ven and started converging on him. Fortunately Ven still had just a little bit of Speed Rave left and managed to evade it just in time and leap after Kefka. Kefka cackled as he leapt away and started running towards the area where Sora fought and defeated Demyx. Ven ran up to face him, leaving the others trapped on the outside of a magic barrier Kefka had activated.

"Time for your punishment, LITTLE ONE!" Kefka said before a towering pillar of light engulfed him. When it vanished, Kefka had transformed into a floating purple monstrosity. On his back were a pair of angel wings above a pair of black bat like wings. He now wore a simple red loin cloth that hung down around his ankles in the back. (A/N: His Dissidia EX mode)

Ven wasted no time, quickly leaping at Kefka who hurled a large spike of ice at him that was at least twice Kefka's own size. The spike of ice stopped in midair causing Ven to halt his charge and quickly threw up a Reflega shield before the spike burst into several bowling ball sized hail pellets. Fortunately the Reflega held and proceeded to smack Kefka with the resulting burst of light. Kefka growled as he reared back a fist and threw a large fireball at Ven who leapt back and blocked the fireball before creating a number of glowing white spheres to appear around Kefka and suddenly explode.

"I am not in the mood!" Kefka growled before he leapt at Ven and launched a small slow floating ball of energy at him. Aqua's eyes widened as she recognized the move.

"WATCH OUT VEN!" She shouted. Luckily Ven heeded her warning and leapt clear just before the ball exploded in a tremendous explosion.

"Whaddya think of this?" Kefka asked as the energy spheres started dropping from the sky again and exploding in the static filled bubbles but they were now starting to move towards him. Ven waited until they were right on top of him before he charged towards Kefka, Keyblade raised. He then quickly started unleashing a sudden flurry of lightning fast strikes on the Mad Mage.

"What-the? Get-offa-me-you-little-pest!" Kefka yelled as he tried to swat Ven away but he played right into Ven's trap, the latter leaping away just before a falling orb landed on Kefka's head.

"OWW! That does it!" Kefka roared.

"What do you hope to gain in all this Kefka? Why are you helping Xehanort?" Ven asked as Kefka laughed.

"Why else? I get to destroy the WORLDS!" Kefka declared gleefully.

"You do realize that Xehanort intends to shroud each world in Darkness, not destroy them!" Ven replied as Kefka looked appalled.

"Destruction without death? BORING!" Kefka said as he started channeling all of his energy together but before he could unleash it, Ven quickly re-released Speed Rave and launched towards the Mad Mage again. He quickly flew in, dealing a number of quick strikes, though Kefka saw through this one and grabbed Ventus by the throat.

"VEN!" Aqua and Sora shouted.

"Any last words?" Kefka asked with a dark grin.

"You…LOSE!" Ven shouted as he cast Firaga Shield and broke free before leaping back and started slashing in multiple directions before finally spinning and creating a tornado of shooting stars that each homed in on Kefka. It was Ven's Multi Vortex Shoot Lock.

"Oh, mommy." Kefka said with a sad chuckle before he was obliterated in a rain of shooting stars, ending the Mad Mage's dreams of total destruction, with his own. Aqua, Sora, and Ven's helmets disappeared as the magic barrier disappeared along with Kefka.

"Ven! You did it!" Aqua exclaimed as she quickly crashed into Ven, almost knocking him over.

"I knew he would." Sora said as Leon ran up to them from the city.

"We've got a problem! Some of the Heartless and Nobodies are still getting through! With the King's guard and magician and Firion guarding Ansem the Wise, there's been a slight gap in our defenses! We need someone to fill the gap!" Leon said as Sora quickly fished into his pocket and pulled out Roxas's Sphere and Axel's pendant.

"These two will help things out." Sora said as he threw the sphere and pendant into the air, summoning both the Flurry of the Dancing Flames and the Key of Destiny to the battle field.

"Yo, Sora. We're ready to lend a hand." Axel said as he summoned his chakrams.

"We'll catch up when we can Sora. Lead the way, Leon." Roxas said before Leon ran off towards the city with both Axel and Roxas in tow.

"Come on, we've got to get to the castle!" Sora said as the helmets reappeared on the armored Keyblade warriors before they charged off into the field of battle.

* * *

**Within the highest point of the Castle…**

Xehanort and Maleficent stood observing the battle from the balcony.

"They have dispatched Kefka. I am surprised that he was unable to defeat them." Maleficent said curiously.

"I'm not. They have re-awakened my former apprentice, Ventus, from his slumber. They have an extra Keyblade in the fight. But I still need more time to gather my strength for our last move. I need you to do all in your power to stop them, or at the very least slow them down." Xehanort said as Maleficent smiled and bowed humbly.

"It would be a pleasure my sweet." Maleficent said as Xehanort gave her a dark scowl before walking off into the darkness of the castle. Maleficent then turned her attention to the approaching Keyblade warriors. She then raised her staff, causing it to glow with an eerie green aura. Storm clouds started gathering and swirling around the top of the castle.

Down on the field the Keyblade warriors were cutting their way through Heartless and Nobodies as fast as they could when Riku noticed the storm clouds.

"Uh oh. IT'S MALEFICENT!" Riku shouted before a bolt of green lighting flashed and nearly struck Ven head on had he not dodge rolled out of the way.

"We've got to hurry! She's attacking us directly now!" Aqua said as they kept fighting their way through the canyon towards the Dark Depths. Maleficent hurled another lightning bolt at them but Aqua managed to deflect it with a Reflega shield, instead causing it to bounce off and hit a small cluster of approaching Heartless and Nobodies, obliterating them. Riku then looked up and saw Maleficent's pet raven, Diablo, flying overhead and scowled.

"That's how she's targeting us so accurately!" Riku shouted before he turned to Sora.

"Sora! Give me a boost will ya?" Riku shouted. Sora quickly slid up and allowed Riku to use his hands as a jumping point. The boost gave Riku enough loft that he was able to hurl a Dark Firaga and bulls eye the Raven, killing it in a large black burst of energy.

"No. NO!" Maleficent gasped as she realized what had happened.

"That's going to really tick her off you know!" Ven said as Riku grinned.

"I've always wanted to do that to the old hag!" Riku replied with a laugh. They were nearly at the Dark Depths but before they could however, Maleficent stood in the tower, waving her staff with a purple aura around over her head as she chanted…

"_The Forest of thorns shall be their tomb, born from the skies like a fog of doom! Now go with a curse and serve me well, 'round Heartless Castle, cast my SPELL!"_

Almost instantly purple bolts of lightning struck at points all around the castle perimeter, and where it struck, a twisted mass of razor sharp brown thorn bushes grew rapidly, quickly blocking the access route into the Castle. The Heroes skid to a halt when they reached the thorns.

"We've got to get through! Sora! Ven! You and me at the front!" Aqua ordered as they started cutting a path through the thick brambles as Riku and Mickey covered the rear. Maleficent could be heard cackling from above in the tower. Fortunately it didn't take them long to cut through the brambles and soon they saw the entrance into the castle.

"We've made it! Come on guys! Hurry!" Sora shouted as they started making a B-line for the castle. Up top, an incensed Maleficent ignited with green flames.

"No! It CANNOT **BE!**" she shouted in anger before she transformed into a glowing green comet and streaked down towards the entrance of the castle, crashing into it and reappearing as her usual Sorceress self right in the Keyblade Warriors' path. They quickly skid to a halt upon seeing her.

"Now you shall deal with me, and all the powers of **DARKNESS!**" She shouted before exploding in a towering pillar of green fire, her cackling being heard as a massive black shadow appeared within the flames with glowing green eyes. The flames died down revealing her towering dragon form.

"Dragons? Why does it always have to be Dragons with her?" Sora asked in disbelief as Maleficent snarled down at them.

"Get back! She's mine!" Riku shouted as he charged towards her, Keyblade raised.

"Riku! Wait!" Sora shouted but Riku didn't wait. Aqua quickly threw a reflega shield around him just as Maleficent breathed a long jet of green flames at Riku that would have cooked him alive. Riku quickly ran around to her side but she was fast and snapped at him a few times before Riku was able to deal a fierce blow onto her snout, causing the beast to recoil in pain for a second with a grunt before breathing another jet of flames at him, but missed. She instead proceeded to ignite the whole thick forest of brambles behind the heroes.

"Great! Now we're trapped!" Ven grumbled as Mickey ran past them.

"You're highness!" Aqua exclaimed.

"Hang on Riku!" Mickey shouted as he leapt up onto Maleficent's tail, running up onto her back as Riku managed to successfully dodge all of her attacks. Riku managed to lead her to a large cliff ledge overlooking the burning bramble forest but in the process, trapping himself between her and the cliff. Maleficent had no idea that Mickey was on her back.

"Come on! We've got to draw her attention!" Aqua shouted as she, Sora, and Ven summoned their Keyblade Riders and flew off towards the large dragon. Riku was about to get incinerated but Sora dropped down in between his best friend and the monster, throwing up a reflega just as she fired a fierce jet of flames towards them both. She was then hit from both sides by Aqua and Ven's magic spells as well as Mickey's own attacks to her head. She started snapping at them as well as breathing the occasional jet of flames at them as Sora turned to Riku.

"Riku! You said a while ago that you wanted to learn what I've learned, well now's your chance. Concentrate as much of your energy into your Keyblade and focus on Maleficent!" Sora said as Riku nodded and held his Keyblade close to his chest, causing it to start glowing with a yellow aura of light. Mickey leapt onto the back of Ven's Keyblade Rider.

"Maleficent!" Riku shouted, catching the attention of the monstrous sorceress, "Have you ever wondered what the purpose of the Keyblade's wielder was?"

Maleficent cackled tauntingly as she reared back for an attack. Riku reared his Keyblade back, ready to throw it.

"It's so the Keyblade flies swift and sure, that Darkness die and Light endure!" Riku said before he hurled his Keyblade straight at the dragon. The glow around the Keyblade grew much brighter, leaving a bright trail of light like a comet before piercing the soft underbelly of Maleficent's chest and bursting out the armored and scaled back. Maleficent let out an agonized scream before she started to tumble forwards. Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade Rider, grabbing Riku, and flying clear before Maleficent tumbled completely off the edge of the cliff to her doom, exploding in a massive burst of black and neon green magic. Maleficent's reign of terror was finally over for good.

"Alright! Way to go, Riku with that Shoot Lock." Aqua cheered as they regrouped back at the front entrance of the castle. Hers, Ven's, and Sora's helmets each disappeared.

"Thank Sora. He's the one who told me what to do." Riku said as he gave Sora a friendly punch on the arm.

"Hey, your power came from your heart. I just told you what to do with it." Sora said with a smile.

"We've won this victory, so now all that remains between us and Xehanort is time and distance. Let's not keep him waiting much longer." Aqua said as they turned towards the castle. They could feel the dark presence within, along with Kairi's light just within the castle. They knew Xehanort was waiting for them and they each silently prepared themselves before slowly walking inside. They arrived at the large round room where Maleficent had first been defeated by Sora a year ago, and also the same room where Sora, technically met and fought Xemnas for the first time as well. As they entered they saw Kairi inside of a large metal cage atop the platform at the back.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted as Kairi looked up at them.

"Sora! Riku! You're alright!" Kairi exclaimed with a smile of relief.

"Hold on Kairi, we're coming to free you!" Sora said as he started running towards the stairs. Unfortunately…

"SORA! LOOK OUT!" Aqua shouted just as Sora crashed into an invisible barrier that launched him across the room and skid onto his back up next to the others.

"Sora, are you okay?" Ven asked as he and Riku helped him back onto his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sora said, shaking his head a few times to clear his head. They then heard the echoing sounds of Xehanort's laughter from the shadows. The Keyblade warriors instinctively summoned their Keyblades and dropped into their battle stances.

"So young and so naïve. Ah how I miss those days when I was young and foolish." Xehanort said as he appeared from the shadows next to Kairi's cage, with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Terra!" Ven exclaimed as Xehanort laughed again.

"Well hello there Ventus. It has been far too long since we last saw one another. I hope that you've rested comfortably." Xehanort said maliciously as Ven snarled at his former friend and master.

"Xehanort!" Aqua yelled as she stepped up. Xehanort looked her over and an arched a curious eyebrow before a smile swept his face.

"Ah, so you have acquired the Keyblade of Master Eraqus, as well as his haori, marking you as a Keyblade Master. Please forgive me for only noticing this now, since we were a little distracted in Castle Oblivion." Xehanort said with a mockingly humble bow.

"You went back to Castle Oblivion?" Riku asked Sora.

"It was Aqua and Ven's homeworld before it was Castle Oblivion." Sora whispered before turning their attention back to Aqua and Xehanort.

"So you at least acknowledge that I'm a Master. Then as a Master of the Keyblade, protector and defender of the worlds and their secrets, I hereby order you to release Kairi from that cage, as well as release your control of Terra, my friend!" Aqua ordered as Xehanort grinned sinisterly.

"And what makes you think that I'm going to do that?" Xehanort asked with a chuckle. His answer came in the form of a Thundaga to the face, knocking him back slightly. The heroes turned to see Sora having been the one to fire it.

"Because you can't beat all of us at once Xehanort! Now release Kairi!" Sora ordered.

"And release Terra!" Ven added.

"Because no matter how hard you try-!" Riku said before Mickey added…

"-You cannot defeat the light!" Mickey said.

"Your choice Xehanort! Surrender Terra or be forced out of him!" Aqua said as Xehanort grinned sinisterly. He then started to glow with a black and purple aura before holding his hand out to the side and summoning his black thorned Keyblade.

"So be it." He replied.

The final battle between Good and Evil was about to begin…

* * *

**End Chapter 36.**

What will happen? Who will win? Find out in the next chapters!


	37. The Heart of Darkness

Xehanort stood with his Keyblade ready atop the platform before the five Keyblade warriors. Sora, Ven, and Aqua's helmets reappeared on their heads. Without warning, Xehanort leapt at them, leaving a trail of black wisps of smoke behind him as he flew. He and Aqua were the first to clash, the other Keyblade warriors spreading out around them. Aqua and Xehanort proceeded to exchange blows until Xehanort proceeded to kick her away in time to block a blow from Ven.

"Such a disappointment Ven. You could have been much more." Xehanort said with a dark grin. Ven gritted his teeth as they pushed their Keyblades against each other. Ven quickly leapt away before Xehanort threw his own, much more powerful, Dark Firaga down at where the boy was standing moments ago. He then quickly turned to block and repel an attack from Riku.

"Speaking of disappointments." Xehanort said as Riku remained calm. He quickly turned and deflected a small sphere of light from the King. Mickey quickly ran in and started grappling with the Lord of the Heartless. Mickey would deliver a few fast and swift blows but Xehanort would block them. Xehanort attempted to swing at the mouse king but Mickey leapt away before he could. They all heard a loud crack before turning to see Sora land on his back again nearby. He had tried to break through the barrier again.

"You never learn do you?" Xehanort asked as he leapt at Sora who quickly dodge rolled out of the way and then leapt at Xehanort, delivering a few fast strikes before leaping back and attempting to use Magnega on him.

"Futile!" Xehanort shouted as he leapt at the apprentice who quickly hurled a Firaga back at him. Xehanort blocked the attack with a grin.

"Is it getting a little warm in here?" Xehanort asked mockingly. Sora quickly used Blizzaga on him but again Xehanort deflected the attack.

"Trying to freeze me to death are you?" Xehanort mocked again. He then noticed Aqua, Ven, Riku, and Mickey charging towards him.

"Nah-ah-ah! I wouldn't do that if I were YOU!" Xehanort shouted as he instantly threw down a large black orb of energy, creating a Corridor of Darkness at his feet, and summoning forth a whole swarm of Neoshadow and Dark Ball Heartless. The other four warriors now had to battle the Heartless, leaving Sora to deal with Xehanort, alone.

"Heartless? Oh no, Terra must not be trying to resist him anymore!" Aqua exclaimed.

"He could be waiting for just the right moment! He probably needs more light around him!" Ven replied as Riku had an idea.

"More light? I know just where to find it! I'll be right back!" Riku shouted as he ran for the door, but was knocked back into the room when he discovered that the entire area had been surrounded by an invisible magic barrier.

"Blast! There's got to be some way of getting some kind of signal out!" Riku said as Aqua glanced at Sora who had managed to activate the Destiny Blitz command style.

"SORA! USE YOUR TIER TWO!" Aqua shouted as Sora leapt back and gave Aqua a thumbs up. He quickly started double-casting Thundaga and Firaga at the surrounding Heartless, allowing Aqua to take back over in fighting Xehanort.

"I don't know what you have in mind, girl, but it won't work!" Xehanort growled as he and Aqua exchanged blows.

"We'll just see about that!" Aqua said as she noticed Sora's Command Style Reflega shield focus in on his Keyblade as it entered the Light of the Worlds Command Style. Sora then turned and aimed his Keyblade towards the ceiling, causing the massive white beam of light to shoot straight up into the air, but impact against the magic barrier for a moment before a loud crack was heard and the beam broke through, streaking into the sky. His Command Style's power expended, Sora quickly turned and continued his assault against the Heartless.

"What was that supposed to do?" Ven asked as he used his Multi Vortex Shoot Lock to clear out a large number of Heartless, but they were still coming.

"With any luck, we might have just managed to call for back up!" Riku replied. Mickey then caught on to what he meant.

"Good thinking Riku!" Mickey said as they continued smashing through Heartless. Meanwhile Aqua and Xehanort were still battling each other. Xehanort then took a vicious swing at Aqua who blocked the blow.

"Your strength is failing you Aqua! You know Terra's physical strength is greater than your own!" Xehanort chuckled with a grin. Aqua quickly leapt back and kicked him backwards before starting to barrage him with magic spells, each of which he blocked or deflected.

"He might be stronger than me, but strength in itself isn't strength at all!" Aqua replied as she entered Magic Wish and started hovering in the air, attacking with her Keyblade floating and flying around her, occasionally casting Thundaga and Magnega.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing! I'm well aware of your Ghost Drive!" Xehanort laughed as he blocked each of her attacks and spells.

"Maybe so! But can you defend against it?" Aqua asked before suddenly multiplying into dozens of clones of herself. There was a sudden flurry of bright flashes of light from around Xehanort before the clones disappeared, leaving only Aqua standing in disbelief. Xehanort had blocked each and every blow from her Ghost Drive Command Style.

"What? Impossible!" Aqua exclaimed as Xehanort laughed maniacally.

"So naïve!" he said with a grin before charging at her again. This time Ven leapt in the way, blocking Xehanort's attack.

"Get out of my way, BOY!" Xehanort ordered but Ven shoved the dark lord back, before moving in to attack. Aqua then turned to join the others in the fight with the Heartless, but as she did, she saw a the front doors start to glow with a bright light.

"Huh?" She asked confused. All of a sudden the doors flew open along as a lone figure flew in towards Xehanort, leaving lens flares behind as it flew. Xehanort saw the new arrival and quickly turned to block a blow from two Keyblades. It was Roxas!

"Well-well, if it isn't the Nobody!" Xehanort laughed as Roxas leapt back, Keyblades primed.

"Somebody call for a light?" Roxas asked before leaping at Xehanort, attacking with Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

"Oh now I get what you meant by back up!" Sora exclaimed to Riku.

"Roxas wields both the Keyblade and the element of light! Quite frankly, we need all the Keyblades we can get a hold of!" Riku replied as they continued cutting down Heartless. This time Aqua had the idea.

"Now that I think about it, there's actually one person who technically isn't in this fight! At least not yet he isn't!" Aqua shouted as she turned to Sora.

"We've got to get rid of these Heartless!" she shouted. Sora and Ven looked at each other and nodded. They then simultaneously leapt back and charged their Keyblades before using the Shiny Bloom, Trinity Drive, and Multi Vortex Shoot Locks respectively and quickly mopped up the remaining Heartless. Everyone turned towards Xehanort as he and Roxas battled each other.

"Terra!" Aqua shouted as she reached in her pocket for something. Roxas leapt back and joined the others as Xehanort turned towards them. Aqua's helmet disappeared as she raised Terra's armor piece and lucky charm in her hand, both of which was glowing with a red aura. Xehanort froze with a look of panic on his face.

"It's time for you to come to your senses!" Aqua shouted as she let go of both the armor piece and lucky charm. In a flash of light Terra's Lingering Sentiment appeared, holding the lucky charm in its left hand and its Keyblade in its right.

"_Xe-ha-nort! XEHA-NORT! __**XEHANORT!**__"_ The Lingering Sentiment shouted angrily as it charged at Xehanort who quickly raised his Keyblade to block.

"NO! GET BACK! GET BACK YOU FOOL!" Xehanort said in fear as he attempted to block.

"Come on guys! Let's give Terra a hand!" Ven shouted as Sora and Roxas gave each other a nod.

"Let us handle this!" Sora said as he and Roxas aimed their Keyblades at Xehanort. Almost instantly both Sora's Keyblade, and Oblivion created thirteen clones each made of light, totaling twenty six light made Keyblade clones which aimed themselves at Xehanort. The Lingering Sentiment quickly swung at Xehanort before leaping away. The twenty six Keyblade clones proceeded to crash into Xehanort, pinning him in place.

"YOU FOOLS! YOU DON'T REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE D-AAUGHHHHHHH!" Xehanort screamed in pain as both he and Terra's sentiment started to glow with light. Everyone watched wide eyed as Xehanort started thrashing around but to no avail, struggling to get free. Aqua and Ven suddenly sensed something and both pulled out their lucky charms. They were glowing with a bright light, Aqua's glowing blue, and Ven's glowing yellow and even Terra's glowing red. Aqua and Ven quickly ran up to either side of the Lingering Sentiment, holding their charms out before them. Soon a glowing beam of white light shot from the three charms, connecting with the others, creating a triangle of light magic. The beam of light then channeled itself from Terra's lucky charm and towards Xehanort's heart. Xehanort started to writhe in fury and pain, the white hair slowly starting to turn back to its original brown, and the yellow eyes returning to the familiar blue. His clothes were even changing from Xehanort's black clothing to Terra's old attire.

"Let's give 'em a boost guys!" Sora said as he, Roxas, Mickey, and Riku hurried and laid a hand on either Aqua's, Ven's, or Terra's Sentiment's shoulders, channeling the light of their hearts (or just light in Roxas's case) towards Xehanort. Suddenly they noticed a swirling black mass of dark energy rising from Xehanort's back as Terra slowly began regaining control. Suddenly they saw a semi transparent image of an old bald headed man with Xehanort's skin tone and yellow eyes but with a small pointed white beard rise from out Terra's back as the latter slumped forward from exhaustion, it was Xehanort's heart. Finally Xehanort's heart broke free entirely, resulting in a massive burst of radiant light that could be seen from the city walls.

* * *

**Inside the city…**

"Looks like it's a victory." Hope said excitedly as Snow grinned and crossed his arms. All around, the other warriors of light started cheering.

"I knew they could do it!" Snow said as Lightning looked towards the still glowing castle with concern.

"Alright Sora!" Goofy cheered.

"They did it!" Donald celebrated.

"They've stopped the darkness!" Tina said with a smile.

"Sora heck! It was all Roxas!" Axel argued with a grin. They then saw the light fade out completely from within the castle.

"So…when do you think they'll be coming back?" Yuffie asked after a few moments of absolute silence.

"I dunno. What's keeping them?" Rikku asked. Leon, Firion, and Lightning each looked out at the castle. The storm clouds were still looming over the castle and the city, the faint sound of thunder could be heard in the distance.

"I don't get it. Why haven't they-." Hope said but Lightning motioned to be quiet.

"It's not over." Lightning said with a hand lingering near the trigger on her weapon.

* * *

**Back inside the castle…**

The light had faded, leaving the six Keyblade warriors standing stunned. The Lingering Sentiment had vanished. They looked around and finally saw, lying on the floor in front of them, was a fully restored…

"Terra!" Ven exclaimed as he and Aqua hurried over to him. His armor piece was back on his shoulder and his clothes were his own even. Sora however noticed Kairi was still in her cage, but smiling with tearful relief and joy at their victory.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he started running towards the steps again.

"Sora! You did it! You've defeated Xehanort!" Kairi cheered. As Sora ran for the steps, Terra started coming around.

"Aqua." He whispered. Aqua quickly dropped down to one knee, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm here Terra." She replied. Sora then reached the steps. Without warning he was launched back away from the stairs again. The barrier was still up.

"Sora!" Riku, Kairi, and Roxas exclaimed in unison before Riku and Roxas hurried over to him. Suddenly Terra grabbed Aqua by the collar and pulled her close to his face.

"You IDIOTS!" Terra yelled angrily, taking everyone by surprise.

"Terra?" Aqua yelped before Terra shoved her back and started climbing to his feet.

"Do you fools have any idea what you've just DONE?" Terra asked with a mixture of anger and horror.

"We…we just rescued you from Xehanort. Aren't you happy?" Ven asked confused.

"Normally I'd be overjoyed, but you don't know what I know! We've just played right into Xehanort's hands!" Terra exclaimed, catching the others by surprise.

"What?" Sora and Ven asked in unison.

"What do you mean we just played into his hands?" Riku asked.

"Don't you see? We've been played for absolute fools! Xehanort's whole plan this entire time was to claim the power of Kingdom Hearts for himself!" Terra replied.

"But how?" Ven asked.

"He only had Kairi, so he would still need the other six Princesses of Heart to forge the key to Kingdom Hearts." Aqua said as Terra sighed in exasperation and ran his hands through his hair as he shook his head.

"No, you don't get it! With what he has planned, he only needs one Princess of Heart and you brought one right to him! He doesn't want to forge the key made from the seven princesses, he is about to forge-…" Terra said as Aqua and Ven's eyes both widened in horror.

"The X-Blade! By the worlds, he's going to re-forge the X-Blade!" Aqua said as Sora scratched his head confused.

"But didn't he already try that with Ven?" Sora asked as Terra nodded.

"Yes but Ven and Vanitas failed! That whole incident ten years ago was just an experiment to see if he even could forge the X-Blade! He knew that Ven would overpower Vanitas but he also knew that doing so would trap fragments of the X-Blade within Ven's heart, making it impossible to forge it again until those fragments were dealt with! When his heartless encountered Sora last year, he sensed Ven's heart within him, and he knew that in order to be able to re-forge the X-Blade, he had to purge the remnants of it from Ven's heart! The only way to do that was by getting Sora trained as a Master so as to reawaken Ven's heart and the only way to do that was to bring Sora and Aqua together!" Terra explained frantically.

"So…Xehanort was the one who sent me to the Realm of Darkness in the first place?" Sora asked as Terra nodded.

"Yes!"

"And…when I reclaimed my body…then I-…" Ven said but was interrupted.

"…-purged the remnants of the X-Blade from your heart." An old and grizzled voice (sounding like Leonard Nimoy) echoed from out of nowhere, but it was a voice that Aqua, Terra, Ven, and Mickey each recognized. Their eyes widened and they each turned towards the platform where they saw a surging cloud of black and purple energy appear floating next to Kairi and her cage. Then the semi-transparent visage of Master Xehanort appeared within the cloud.

"Xehanort!" Terra, Aqua, Ven, and Sora exclaimed, re-summoning their armor and Keyblades but not their helmets. Mickey, Roxas, and Riku followed suit in summoning their Keyblades. Kairi immediately leapt to the side of the cage opposite Xehanort, fear clearly written on her face.

"I must thank you for the use of your faculties Master Terra. And I must also thank you all for your work in helping to make a plan, decades in the making, finally come together at this, the pinnacle of my success!" Master Xehanort said with a smile.

"Had we known, we would never have helped you!" Aqua yelled as Master Xehanort looked at her with his dark smile.

"Yes you would have. Your love and devotion to your friends would be too strong to resist. You would have done nothing differently." Master Xehanort said as Riku sighed in frustration.

"No offence, Terra, but I think we probably should have just killed you back there." Riku said as Master Xehanort chuckled.

"Ah, Riku. You still don't understand. Killing him would have been meaningless. It would have released me and killed him, not kill the both of us together." Master Xehanort said.

"Then how are we supposed to kill you?" Riku asked angrily, pointing at him with his Keyblade.

"That's the best part of the plan. When I exchanged my tired, old, weak, and battered original body, for Terra's, it gave me the youth and agility I needed to carry on my experiment for another decade. Once I confirmed that the formula for creating the X-Blade is a heart of Pure Darkness, mixed with a heart of Pure Light, thanks to Ven and Vanitas, I knew that all I needed to do next was to get the X-Blade into my hands. But there was a problem. Only the being that possessed the two hearts of Pure Light and Pure Darkness could wield the X-Blade. I had made Ventus and Vanitas into the single most powerful being in all the worlds for the time they wielded it. Now that I know that, I had to find a way to create the X-Blade, but with my heart being one of the two hearts." Xehanort said as a chill ran down everyone's spines.

"And his heart is of Pure Darkness, while Kairi's is of-…" Terra said as Sora's eyes widened.

"…Hers is of Pure Light! KAIRI!" Sora shouted as Xehanort grinned and the glow around him started to intensify. Kairi shrunk down in her cage, even more terrified than she was originally.

"At last, you finally understand the fruits of my years of hard work, blood, and sweat, of betrayal and duplicity, of subterfuge and deceit. Now you shall witness my final rebirth, no longer as simply Master Xehanort of the Keyblade or Master Xehanort of the Heartless, but as Xehanort, the lord and ruler of all the worlds!" Xehanort said as the clouds around him started expanding towards Kairi's cage.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Sora shouted as his helmet appeared and he leapt towards the two, only to get thrown back due to the barrier. Xehanort ignored him and turned with an evil smirk towards Kairi who struggled to back away.

"SORA!" Kairi shouted in fear as Xehanort continued to approach her, the clouds starting to enshroud the both of them. The bars to the cage didn't even hinder Xehanort as he passed through them like air.

"SORA! SOMEONE! ANYONE! PLEASE!" Kairi screamed before suddenly she screamed in absolute pain and terror though completely hidden from their view due to the clouds. All they could do was watch in horror, helpless to do anything due to the barrier.

"KAIRI!" Sora shouted reaching out towards the clouded area. Suddenly all fell silent until they heard a loud crack just as the barrier dissolved and large chunks of twisted metal flew out from the clouds. The heroes quickly threw up a Reflega shield around themselves just in time for the shrapnel to ricochet off the shields. They then heard what sounded like Kairi laughing. It was Kairi's voice, but the tone was not at all hers. It was more malevolent and evil in tone. Finally in a single powerful burst of wind, the heroes got knocked into the far wall on the opposite side of the room, simultaneously clearing out the clouds and revealing Kairi but she was very different in appearance.

Her hair had turned a stark white, her skin had become more tanned, and her once crystal blue eyes were now a terrifying yellow. Her clothes were still the same but in her hand was the long fabled Keyblade that Xehanort had long coveted…the X-Blade.

"KAIRI!" Sora shouted again as he looked at her in horror. Kairi, or rather Xehanort, only grinned sinisterly before she started to chuckle, but her chuckle evolved into dark laughter, which evolved again into an evil cackle. The others were staring at her in absolute horror as she raised the X-Blade above her head.

"AT LAST! THE ULTIMATE POWER IN THE UNIVERSE IS MINE TO COMMAND! **TO CONTROL!**" Xehanort declared with evil glee.

"LET HER GO YOU MONSTER!" Terra shouted as his helmet appeared on his head and he charged forward but was swiftly knocked back by a bolt of dark magic as Xehanort started singing. (Music Cue: Prince Ali Reprise from Disney's Aladdin)

_"Oh Kairi, yes it is she,_  
_But not as you know her._  
_Read my lips and come to grips with reality._  
_Yes, meet a blast from you past,_  
_whose love was too good to last!_  
_Say hello to your precious Princess! Of Heart!"_

She sang as with every wave of her hand, her clothes changed to match Xehanort's clothes when he possessed Terra only in her size.

"Kairi!" Sora said in horrid shock.

"No." Aqua said breathlessly as Xehanort continued…

_"So Kairi turns out to be the perfect vessel!_  
_Just the pawn, I need to go on,_  
_take it from me!_  
_Your personality flaws,_  
_gave me adequate pause,_  
_to get packing for a one-way trip,_  
_so your prospects take a terminal dip!"_

Xehanort sang as a Corridor of Darkness started appearing around her…

_"Your assets frozen, the outcome chosen_  
_is an ultimate victory, for ME-E!_  
_Say so long, to Princess, Kairi-I!"_

Xehanort sang, ending with another maniacal laugh before disappearing into the Corridor of Darkness which closed behind her, leaving the others in stunned and horrified silence. They remained where they were for what seemed like forever, attempting to process what had just happened. Finally Sora started walking slowly towards where Xehanort had stood only moments ago, before dropping to his knees halfway there with an empty and stunned expression on his face.

"Kairi." He said breathlessly, a tear running down his cheek.

* * *

**End Chapter 37.**

The song above was an altered version of the "Prince Ali (Reprise)" from Disney's Aladdin. I do not own Aladdin.


	38. Into Everlasting Darkness

"Kairi." Sora said breathlessly, a tear running down his cheek as he knelt on the floor of the Heartless Castle. He had just witnessed Xehanort take total control of Kairi's body, creating the X-Blade, and escape within a Corridor of Darkness. The others started to climb to their feet, Aqua approaching Sora slowly. She walked around to in front of him before kneeling down and pulling his head onto her shoulder.

"Sora…I am…I am so sorry." She whispered into his ear.

"So, Xehanort has what he's always wanted. The key to everlasting darkness." Riku said in an emotionless tone.

"We're such fools for letting him manipulate us like that." Ven said as Terra sighed and nodded.

"He's been planning this for decades Ven. He had everything planned out, every contingency, every move. He knew what to do and made sure it happened." Terra said as Roxas crossed his arms and sighed in frustration.

"Isn't there anything we can do? Any way to stop him?" Roxas asked Terra shrugged.

"We'd have to know where he is first, and then find a way to get to him. But even then, we'd still have a hard time beating him with the X-Blade in his power." Terra said as Riku looked at him curiously.

"Don't you know where he went? You were privy to most of his plans after all." Riku said as Terra shrugged.

"I have no idea. There were something's Xehanort managed to keep secret even from me. I didn't even know until just before I ran into Aqua and Sora in Castle Oblivion what his real plans were, and by that point he had captured Kairi." Terra explained.

"So what are we supposed to do? We've got to stop him!" Ven said.

"We need to stay calm and focused. I know in my heart, that everything will turn out okay." Mickey said in an effort to cheer everyone up.

"Even if we could manage to defeat Xehanort, how would we get him out of Kairi? She doesn't have a Sentiment to help in the process, and that's part of what restored me." Terra said.

"That's something we'll have to deal with when we get there. But for now, we can't lose hope." Aqua said as she approached with a despondent Sora close behind.

"Hope is the one thing you should never lose sight of. It'll help you out of the worst of situations even if the whole thing looks grim." Mickey said reassuringly.

"Well unless hope can open some kind of Corridor that'll lead us straight to Xehanort, then I don't see how-…" Terra said but was interrupted by a loud rumble. The ground beneath their feet began to shake violently and buckle. Sora was quickly brought out of his grief induced stupor as a result.

"What's going on?" Sora asked as the castle started to literally rip itself apart. They all looked up and saw why as large chunks of the castle started breaking off and flying upwards towards a massive glowing sphere of dark energy. Terra recognized it instantly with his eyes widened in shock.

"IT'S XEHANORT! HE'S PULLING THIS WORLD INTO DARKNESS! THIS IS HOW THE LAND OF DEPARTURE WAS DESTROYED!" Terra exclaimed as Aqua spotted something that made her eyes widen in horror.

"Not just this world, LOOK!" Aqua shouted, pointing towards the now easily visible sky where the stars could be seen flickering like mad.

"He's not just pulling this world into darkness, he pulling them all into darkness! Radiant Garden! Twilight Town! Disney Castle! Even the Destiny Islands! He's plunging the whole universe into Darkness!" Riku exclaimed as Sora suddenly realized something.

"Wait a minute! That's IT! I know how we can save Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.

"How? We don't even know where she IS!" Ven replied as Sora looked straight up at the sphere of darkness and summoned his Keyblade Rider and armor.

"Oh Sora, I hope you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking!" Riku said worriedly.

"You're crazy!" Ven exclaimed.

"You can't make it through there! You could get crushed alive!" Terra added.

"I don't see how else to get to Xehanort! This is our only way to get to him and rescue Kairi! Besides if we don't do something, there won't be any worlds left!" Sora argued as the others looked at each other silently for a moment. Aqua then summoned her armor and Keyblade Rider.

"Sora's right! We've inadvertently made this mess! So it's up to us to fix it! Like he said, this is the only way to reach Xehanort and restore all the worlds at one time! I don't know about you guys but I'm going with Sora, with or without you!" Aqua said as Ven and Terra both looked at each other and sighed.

"Alright, we're in!" Terra said as he and Ven both summoned their Keyblade Riders and armor.

"Hey, what about us?" Riku asked.

"Hop on!" Terra ordered as Riku complied, hopping onto the back of his bike-like Keyblade Rider. Roxas jumped on with Ven, and Mickey climbed onto Sora's.

"Alright it's now or never!" Aqua said before they all shot straight up towards the massive Corridor into Darkness.

"Everyone stay close! It's going to get pretty crowded in there with all these worlds getting ripped apart!" Terra shouted as they got closer to the Corridor.

"Ready or not Xehanort! We're coming to get our friend back!" Riku added, his Keyblade summoned just as they entered into the Corridor. Almost instantly they saw the Twilight Town clock tower in their path.

"WATCH OUT!" Aqua shouted, as they quickly scattered to fly around it and then regrouped. The Corridor was choked with massive obstacles, all of them large chunks of different worlds, all tumbling through a twisting and turning vortex of purple, green, and black energies surging past them and towards some unknown destination.

"Try not to destroy anything! These worlds are eventually going to have to come back together and they can't do that if they're damaged!" Ven said as they narrowly dodged a spire from the palace in Agrabah.

"Steady as you go guys!" Aqua ordered.

"Uh, guys! I think we've got a bigger problem!" Roxas exclaimed as he looked behind them.

"Riku, Mickey, Roxas, someone not flying, look for us!" Aqua replied as they dodged an elephant's skull from Pride Rock.

"We've got Heartless, really big and really mad!" Riku said as Terra growled in frustration. There was a sea of Dark Ball and Invisible Heartless and even a Darkside Heartless or two on their tails.

"DEAL WITH 'EM! You've got magic and Keyblades! Do what you can to keep 'em off our tails! We can't fight Heartless and navigate through this mine field at the same time!" Terra ordered as they flew around a statue of King Triton from Atlantica.

"You got it!" Mickey said as he turned and aimed his Keyblade at the approaching Heartless, firing spheres of light at them while holding onto Sora's leg. Roxas quickly turned to Ven.

"Don't be alarmed but I'm about to put my arm around your neck!" Roxas said as Ven nodded understandingly. Roxas did as he said before turning back around with Oathkeeper summoned and firing off beams of light magic from it at the Heartless. Riku started moving around behind Terra.

"What are you doing back there?" Terra asked as he struggled to stay on course, just narrowly avoiding a large portion of the tree house from Deep Jungle.

"Trying to turn around so I can blast the Heartless!" Riku replied as he finally finished turning around, now sitting back to back with Terra and his Keyblade summoned.

"It just keeps going on forever! This Corridor has to empty out some time!" Sora exclaimed.

"We just have to keep flying until we do! The exit has to be around here somewhere!" Aqua replied as they dodged the spiral hill from Halloween Town.

"We might not make it that far! Those Heartless just aren't backing down!" Roxas shouted, blasting a Darkside between the eyes and releasing its heart.

"We can't give up!" Mickey said as he continued hurling the spheres of light at the approaching Heartless. They then dodged something that Sora watched as they passed it by…it was a piece of the play island from the Destiny Islands.

"SORA! STAY FOCUSED!" Aqua shouted as Sora quickly turned back around just in time to swerve out of the way of the Black Pearl from Port Royal.

"I'm sorry! I just saw my home fly by!" Sora replied.

"You can't get distracted right now! One bad turn and you're dead!" Terra yelled as they dodged a giant chair from Wonderland.

"This is getting intense!" Ven shouted.

"HEADS UP!" Aqua shouted as they all saw a massive, thrashing obstacle in their path. It was Monstro the Whale coming at them fast.

"KEEP AWAY FROM HIS MOUTH!" Riku shouted. They quickly managed to dodge the humongous whale, but most of the heartless behind them, didn't.

"Hey! That actually helped!" Roxas exclaimed with a shrug but he then continued attacking the remaining Heartless.

"Uh, Mickey, you don't want to look right now!" Sora said as he spotted a tower off of Disney Castle fly past.

"Now I don't think _I_ want to look." Terra said as they dodged one of the ruined towers from the Land of Departure.

"Where is that exit already?" Riku asked as he blasted a Dark Ball with Dark Firaga.

"Why do I have the feeling that Xehanort has something to do with THIS too!" Terra asked in frustration as they flew around Memory's Skyscraper from the World that Never Was.

"Wait! I think I see something!" Aqua exclaimed.

"Fly around it!" Riku said as Terra shook his head.

"No wait! I see it! I think it's the exit!" Terra said as the path ahead of them cleared of debris and they accelerated forward towards the exit.

"Here's hoping Xehanort's on the other side!" Ven shouted as they finally passed into the exit only to be spat out into an empty seeming world with a vast ocean and a few towering peaks dotted by a few small islands. The sky was a constant overcast with hardly any sunlight whatsoever. Sora, Riku, Roxas, and King Mickey recognized the world almost instantly.

"It's…it's the End of the World." Sora said as they hovered in midair, the exit behind them having disappeared.

"This is what happens to the worlds that lose their hearts? By the worlds." Aqua said in soft spoken shock.

"The door to Kingdom Hearts is here, and that's got to be where we'll find Xehanort." Riku said as Aqua sighed.

"There's so much Darkness here, I can't even tell if Xehanort's here or not." Aqua said as her helmet disappeared.

"How are we supposed to find Xehanort if we can't even feel past this darkness?" Roxas asked.

"We simply don't look for Xehanort." Sora said as his helmet disappeared and he reached into his pocket.

"Then what are we supposed to look for?" Terra asked.

"We don't look for Xehanort, we look for Kairi. This will show us the way." Sora said as he held up Kairi's lucky charm. All of a sudden, the lucky charm started to glow with a white aura and emit an intermittent tone, the aura fading in and out with the tone.

"Lead the way Sora, we'll follow behind you." Aqua said as Sora took point and led them down to a spot where they could land and dismiss their Keyblade Riders. Soon they were walking across the Heartless world, following Sora with their Keyblades primed. Aqua, Ven, Terra, and Sora each had their armor still active but their helmets were off.

"Stay sharp. The last time we were here, I remember a whole bunch of powerful Heartless liked to lurk around here. We best keep on our guard." Riku said as Sora stopped and looked around curiously.

"Something wrong Sora?" Ven asked.

"The world…it's different than the last time I was here." Sora said as he turned around to face them.

"Not surprising, considering this world was technically destroyed when the worlds were restored the last time. It's only natural that when Xehanort had all the worlds consumed by darkness, that this place would come back but with a different geography." Terra said.

"We can't just stop and chat, guys. We have to keep moving. Kairi, not to mention, the worlds are counting on us. We can't stop and discuss world composition or strategy. It's just a luxury we can't afford right now." Roxas said as Sora turned back around and waved the Lucky charm across in front of him for a second, watching the charm's light and tone. Finally he started walking again, keeping the charm in front of him as they walked.

"Creepy place, that's for sure." Ven said.

"You can say that again." Aqua said with a sigh.

"Do you think Xehanort knows if we're here?" Riku asked.

"It's a possibility." Terra replied.

"I never thought I'd ever say this, but I'm starting to miss the World that Never Was." Roxas said as he looked at the haunting chunks of fallen worlds built into the landscape.

"Sora, any progress yet?" Mickey asked as Sora looked at the lucky charm. The tone had noticeably increased along with the pulsing of the aura around it.

"Yeah, we're getting closer. We've still got a ways to go." Sora said as they pressed on. They rounded a corner, revealing an unstable looking stone bridge that looked like it was partially made from Pride Rock. Behind it was a tall cone shaped mountain.

"Best we steer clear of that mountain. I remember Master Eraqus used to tell us stories of a powerful monster of Darkness that lives on the top of the tallest mountain in the center of the world of darkness, guarding its secrets." Terra said, earning a look from the others.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Think about it Terra. The center of the world of darkness? Guarding its secrets? Where do you think we're probably going to have to go?" Aqua asked as Sora sighed.

"More like where we have to go. The charm is leading us straight to that mountain." Sora said as they looked up at the mountain.

"Sora, didn't you encounter that creature the last time you were here?" Roxas asked as Sora took a deep breath.

"Yeah, but I defeated it." Sora replied.

"Sora, that creature's strength was probably based on how many worlds had been consumed at the time. If it's still there, then it's probably ten times stronger than when you fought it last." Aqua warned as Sora turned towards her with a determined look on his face.

"I'm not afraid. I've grown stronger too in case you've forgotten, Master!" Sora said in frustration.

"Easy there Sora, she wasn't questioning your strength, just giving you fair word of warning. That's all." Terra said as Sora sighed and nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just…really messed up right now." Sora said as Aqua put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay to be angry Sora. We all get angry sometimes. But the trick is knowing when to let go of your anger and not let it consume you. Otherwise you end up like…like this very world. All torn up and misshapen." Aqua said as Sora nodded and turned back around.

"Let's press on." Sora said as they continued walking towards the mountain.

"So let me get this straight. You faced the dark guardian of that mountain and won?" Terra asked.

"Yeah. He wasn't easy but I eventually did defeat him with the help of Donald and Goofy." Sora replied as they passed into a large tunnel that was nothing but pitch black darkness, illuminated only by the pulsing glow of the lucky charm.

"Uh, Roxas? Little light please?" Sora asked before the room was illuminated in a deep red light from above and below.

"Wow that was handy, thanks Roxas." Sora said with a shrug.

"Uh, that wasn't me." Roxas said as Sora paused, turning to look at him curiously.

"If it wasn't you then…" Sora said as he and the others looked up to see a pair of glowing menacing eyes staring down at them.

"Terra?" Aqua said, not averting her eyes yet summoning her helmet simultaneously.

"Yeah?"

"Not a single word about this when it's over." Aqua replied before the towering monster opened its humongous wings, revealing that they were standing on a cliff ledge over its volcano of a throne. The towering black demon let out an enraged roar from its black horned head.

"What is that thing?" Ven asked.

"Chernabog! Believe it or not, it's the highest evolution of Heartless short of the human formed ones!" Aqua shouted as they quickly summoned and remounted their Keyblade Riders. They took to the sky, avoiding Chernabog's massive wings as they continued opening.

"He's gotten bigger since last time!" Sora exclaimed.

"That's because more worlds have fallen since last time!" Aqua replied as they dodged Chernabog's fist.

"Alright, he's just a giant heartless so he's not invulnerable to the Keyblade, let alone seven of them!" Riku shouted.

"Eight if you count Roxas!" Ven corrected.

"Can't we just bypass him and move on?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas, he's standing right on top of our entrance! We have no choice but to defeat him!" Aqua replied as Roxas sighed before mumbling as they all turned towards Chernabog…

"I knew I should have stayed in Sora's heart today."

* * *

**End Chapter 38**

Chernabog is from Disney's Fantasia if you didn't know that already. Naturally I do not own Fantasia.


	39. Door to Darkness

(A/N: It helps if you're listening to Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" during this battle scene.)

Sora, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Riku, Roxas, and Mickey were being glared at from the monstrous Chernabog, now almost ten times as large as he was the first time Sora fought him.

"How are we going to take down this guy?" Terra asked.

"How did you do it the first time Sora?" Aqua asked.

"Um, well I just kept hitting his head until he went down!" Sora said as Riku groaned.

"Sora! You nincompoop!" Riku yelled.

"Hey! I'm trying!" Sora argued.

"Knock it off you two! Save the fighting for Chernabog!" Aqua ordered as they managed to avoid Chernabog's island sized fist as it swung down at them.

"We can't fight effectively on our Keyblade Riders, we need to be able to use our Keyblades directly!" Ven shouted.

"Can anyone besides me, Glide?" Sora asked as Aqua instantly dismissed her Keyblade Rider, reverting it to its basic Keyblade form. She instantly started gliding.

"I'll take that as a yes! Everyone start gliding!" Sora shouted. Soon they were each flying towards Chernabog's head, gliding across the winds as Chernabog attempted to swat them out of the skies.

"Uh-oh!" Mickey yelped as he noticed Chernabog attempt to smash them between his hands. Terra quickly targeted Chernabog's left hand and fired his Ultima Cannon Shoot Lock at the towering Heartless, causing it to recoil in pain before Terra continued on after the others.

"Nice shot!" Roxas shouted back to him.

"Thanks!" Terra replied. Finally they made it to the top of Chernabog's head, causing the monster to roar in anger.

"I think he doesn't like having bugs in his hair!" Ven said. Suddenly they saw a trio of Darkside Heartless emerge from the top of his head, though their feet were still merged with Chernabog's scalp. Sora and Aqua instantly ganged up to take on the center one while Riku and Terra took on the left and Roxas, Ven, and Mickey took on the right one.

Sora and Aqua quickly charged at the center Darkside both of them throwing out magic spells and entering their unique tier one command styles, Magic Wish and Destiny Blitz. Ven, Roxas, and Mickey quickly leapt in, attacking the towering Darkside with a flurry of attacks from the Keyblade until Ven finally entered Speed Rave. He then quickly cast Aeroga on his two partners and himself, surrounding each of them with an individual swirling sphere of cutting winds, enough to put him into his unique Command Style: Cyclone (A/N: He actually has two unique tier 2s in the game but for the sake of the story he has only the one). Terra and Riku started wailing on the Darkside until Terra had enough energy built up to enter his unique tier one Command Style, Fatal Mode. He then leapt back and started blasting the Darkside with Firaga and Blizzaga until finally he had enough energy to move on into the Command Style he shared with Aqua, Blade Charge. He then leapt at the Darkside, delivering several serious blows to it.

"We need to end this battle fast!" Aqua shouted as she and Sora swirled around their Darkside. Aqua had also entered Blade Charge but Sora was still using Destiny Blitz.

"Do you have any ideas master?" Sora asked as he came around, dodging Darkside's fist.

"Yeah but it might not work and we'll need to get high above Chernabog if it's going to pull it off!" Aqua replied as Sora turned and flew towards her.

"Then let's do it Master!" Sora said before he and Aqua came together and pushed off of each other's feet, sending Aqua flying towards Terra and Riku, and Sora towards Ven, Roxas, and Mickey.

"Come on! We've got an idea!" Sora said as they all quickly took to the skies again via Keyblade Rider. Chernabog looked up at them as they fly up and away from them. Once they were out of his reach, Sora, Aqua, Ven, and Terra, dismissed their Keyblade Riders and allowed themselves to enter a freefall back down towards Chernabog.

"WHAT PART OF THIS IS GOING TO HELP?" Riku asked in disbelief.

"AIM YOUR KEYBLADES AT HIS HEAD AND FOCUS AS MUCH POWER AS YOU CAN INTO YOUR KEYBLADE!" Aqua shouted. On command, the seven Keyblade Warriors aimed their Keyblades down at Chernabog's head and focused their power into the Keyblades. The Keyblades started glowing brightly, causing circles of energy to form around them like they were about to seal a keyhole. A circle of dark blue appeared around Sora's, light blue around Aqua's, pure white around both Mickey's and both of Roxas's, red around Terra's, dark yellow around Ven's, and a light yellow around Riku's each appeared before beams of the corresponding color shot from the tips and converged at a central point a short distance ahead of them before culminating in a single pure white beam, almost eight times as large as the individual beams shot from the convergence point down towards Chernabog. The massive heartless attempted to shield itself with its wings but to no avail, the beam cut right through the wings and into its chest, causing it to explode in a massive black cloud, releasing the largest heart short of Kingdom Hearts itself that they had ever seen.

"ALRIGHT! KEYBLADE RIDERS EVERYONE OR ELSE WE'RE STAINS ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE!" Aqua shouted as they quickly regrouped onto the Keyblade Riders and headed into the now open mountain top. Once they passed through the mouth of the "volcano" they found themselves in a large wide open cavernous area with a single passageway blocked by a giant glowing Heartless emblem. They quickly dismissed their Keyblade Riders and approached the door, the helmets disappearing from the armored warriors. Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out Kairi's Lucky Charm again. Now it was glowing solidly and the tone wasn't fluctuating in the slightest.

"This is it. Once we go past this door, there's no going back." Sora said as they each lined up in a row facing the door.

"I'm ready." Terra said with a nod.

"I'm not afraid of the Darkness." Riku said.

"Me neither." Ven added.

"The light will see us through all this." Roxas said with a deep breath.

"If we help each other out and watch each other's backs, we'll emerge victorious." Mickey said.

"The worlds are counting on us. We're not going to let them down." Aqua said as Sora took one last look at Kairi's Charm before holding it close to his chest.

"Kairi…I'm coming for you." Sora said before he pocketed it once again. He then raised his Keyblade and pointed it at the Heartless Emblem. The blue circle started forming around the tip again before finally firing the beam into it. In a flash the emblem transformed into a swirling black vortex leading into oblivion. Without saying a word, the seven walked, heads held high, towards the vortex. They didn't look away from it, they didn't slow down, they didn't even act hesitant…

They were marching towards their destiny.

* * *

**End Chapter 39.**

Yes I know this is a short chapter but I wanted to be super evil and leave you all in a cliffhanger!

(Insert evil laugh here...no seriously I had put one in, but the #$%# editor system for FF deletes it everytime!)

But fret not, for there is only one more, 3 chapter update left. Yep that's right, the story will be finished in three more chapters, totaling 42 chapters. Hey! 42! That's the answer to life, the universe, and everything!


	40. Kingdom Hearts Part 1

The seven heroes emerged from the vortex onto a large empty platform made from pieces of consumed worlds, floating in the middle of absolute blackness. Hovering in the air nearby was the Door to Kingdom Hearts. They noticed that one section of the platform was made of the courtyard from the Land of Departure, another section from the Castle that Never Was, another from the train station courtyard of Twilight Town, another from the beaches of the Destiny Islands, and finally another from Disney Castle. Standing with her back turned to them was Xehanort, still in Kairi's body, still holding the X-Blade, and staring at the Door to Kingdom Hearts.

"So…you've come." Xehanort said, not turning to face them.

"You weren't easy to find." Terra replied.

"But we weren't looking for you." Ven added.

"We were looking for Kairi." Sora added, eliciting a chuckle from Xehanort.

"How very amusing." Xehanort replied with a smirk, though they couldn't tell since she still had her back turned to them.

"You may have succeeded in plunging the worlds into darkness, but you haven't snuffed out the light." Riku said.

"And the light will always be there, no matter how much darkness surrounds it." Mickey added.

"Even in nothingness, there's light." Roxas added.

"Intriguing…every living known Keyblade wielder in the universe has come to challenge me. Then this means that once I've defeated you all, there will be none to dispute my power." Xehanort said with a smile.

"You're not going to defeat us Xehanort." Terra replied.

"We're going to defeat you, free Kairi, free the worlds, and put an end to you." Aqua said as Xehanort started to chuckle before turning towards them.

"So naïve, so foolish. You cannot comprehend the power of the X-Blade. Its power comes directly from Kingdom Hearts itself so there is nothing in this universe that can even come close to matching it in power!" Xehanort declared as she held the X-Blade above her head.

"You're wrong." Sora said, earning a disdainful look from Xehanort.

"There is one thing that is more powerful than the X-Blade. Even more powerful than Kingdom Hearts. Something that you would never understand, Xehanort." Sora said.

"And what is that?" Xehanort asked with a scowl.

"The power of a single heart is enough to overpower even the X-Blade and Kingdom Hearts." Sora replied as Xehanort chuckled.

"You really believe that, don't you?" Xehanort asked as Sora stood firm.

"He's not alone. I believe it too." Aqua said as she stood proudly next to her apprentice.

"And so do I." Ven added, standing next to them.

"As do I!" Terra said, also standing next to them. Roxas, Riku, and Mickey joined them silently.

"You might have the X-Blade Xehanort, but we have something better. We have the power of our hearts combined." Sora said.

"An unbreakable connection." Aqua added.

"So you can't defeat us. We will not bow down to you or anyone who uses the power of darkness for evil." Sora said as Xehanort started to chuckle again but this time his chuckling evolved into evil laughter and again in to a maniacal cackling. She also started glowing with an aura of dark magic and started floating up and into the air.

"You fools! Do you really think that your petty friendship will ever be able to resist my power? I hold the X-Blade! You have nothing but your own individual power! Divided and even united, you are NOTHING!" Xehanort shouted before a burst of black darkness energy erupted from around her, revealing the guardian, floating from her back and the X-blade still within her hands.

"Warriors of Light! If you wish to test this unbreakable connection of yours, then HAVE AT THEE!" Xehanort shouted before she launched towards the ground, landing with a powerful shockwave of dark magic. The helmets appeared on the armored warriors before they each charged towards Xehanort. Riku was the first to reach Xehanort but the guardian smacked him away as Xehanort herself turned and countered a blow from Ven. Ven attempted to use Firaga Shield but Xehanort launched him away with a burst of dark magic.

"This body may not be as strong as yours, Master Terra, but its small size and agility certainly has its ADVANTAGES!" Xehanort shouted as she aimed the X-Blade at Terra, firing a large beam of dark magic from the end of it, but luckily Terra managed to avoid the attack just as Aqua landed behind Xehanort and block a blow from the guardian. Xehanort whirled around with a vicious swing of the X-Blade at Aqua but she had cartwheeled out of the way in time for several shields made of light to appear in the air around Xehanort and fire beams of pure white light at her, courtesy of Roxas. Xehanort blocked the attack with a new move, Dark Reflega. The Dark Reflega absorbed the attack before firing out a shockwave of dark energy.

"You'll have to do better than that, NOBODY!" Xehanort declared as he turned to block an attack from King Mickey who was quickly grabbed and thrown away by the guardian. Terra then leapt in, his blade and the X-Blade clashing. Xehanort attempted to hit him with a powerful Dark Firaga but Terra expertly negated the spell, surprising Xehanort.

"Don't assume I didn't learn anything while you possessed me Xehanort! I know all of your moves!" Terra declared as Xehanort laughed.

"Is that so? Well how about THIS?" Xehanort shouted as the X-Blade started glowing with dark energy, before she swung the X-Blade at him knocking him back and hitting him in the stomach with a wave of dark magic. Fortunately Terra was alright thanks to his armor. Xehanort then turned and blocked a double attack from Roxas. Xehanort grinned as she and Roxas pressed their blades together.

"What's the matter Roxas? Afraid to harm the girl's nobody? Your precious Namine?" Xehanort asked tauntingly, causing Roxas to snarl in anger.

"This is where not having a heart comes in handy! I can be angry all I want and it won't consume me!" Roxas shouted as he spun and locked blades with Xehanort once again but this time the Guardian grabbed him in both hands and started squeezing him to death.

"Roxas!" Aqua exclaimed before she realized that there was someone missing from the fight. Sora was still standing in his battle stance and with his armor active.

"Sora? What are you doing? Get out there and save Roxas!" Aqua shouted as Sora looked up at her, his helmet disappeared and she saw a conflicted expression on his face.

"But…Kairi." He said as Aqua realized the reason for his hesitation. He could never lift his blade at Kairi, no matter who was in control of her.

"Just, great." Aqua mumbled before she quickly leapt into the battle while Ven and Mickey distracted Xehanort. She quickly somersaulted into the air and over the guardian, delivering a powerful blow to its wrists, causing it to drop Aqua. Riku ran in and slammed into the falling Nobody, carrying the both of them clear of Xehanort and the guardian. Terra then ran up to Aqua.

"What's Sora doing?" He asked confused.

"His heart's not in the fight! He doesn't see Xehanort, he sees Kairi and he can't raise his blade to her!" Aqua replied as Terra groaned in frustration.

"GREAT! The fate of the worlds hangs in the balance and he's afraid that he might harm his girlfriend!" Terra groaned before leaping into the fight. Mickey leapt at Xehanort as well but both he and Terra were knocked away by the guardian as Xehanort dueled with Ven.

"You would have been much better off if Vanitas were still in control Ven." Xehanort said as Ven snarled angrily.

"I am my own person! I'm ME!" Ven replied as he parried a few blows from Xehanort but was suddenly knocked away by the guardian. Riku then leapt in with an attack, but Xehanort blocked again.

"And you would have been a much more preferable host than this girl. Pity your heart is of darkness." Xehanort said as Riku glared at her.

"You might have my friend's body, but I'm pretty sure she would want me to defeat you regardless!" Riku yelled before Xehanort shoved him away before hurling a Dark Firaga at him. Riku quickly blocked the spell but the force of the blast threw him almost off the edge of the platform. Luckily he was caught by Mickey.

"Need a hand pal?" Mickey asked as he helped Riku pull himself back onto the platform.

"Thanks Mickey. I owe you one." Riku said before leaping to his feet. Now Aqua and Xehanort were exchanging blows, Aqua nimbly dodging the attacks from the guardian while attacking with her Keyblade simultaneously. Xehanort then noticed that all five of the other attacking Keyblade Warriors were charging towards her at the same time. Xehanort shoved Aqua away and sent released another shockwave of dark magic, repelling the attacking warriors.

"Is this all you have? You pathetic, worthless pieces of trash are not fit to wield the Keyblade! If only you could hear, the cries for help that the heart of this girl were screaming! She has no idea that her fate is sealed, as is all of-!" Xehanort taunted before suddenly she felt the guardian in pain and roar in agony. She turned quickly to see Sora with his Keyblade driven into the Guardian's back.

"WHAT?" Xehanort shrieked as Sora leapt off the top of the guardian to in front of Xehanort, turning with a swing that the surprised Xehanort barely had time to block.

"You might have Kairi's body, you might attack my friends, you might destroy my homeworld, but you will NOT insult her!" Sora shouted angrily as his helmet formed on his head.

"Now he wakes up!" Terra groaned as Aqua slapped him upside the back of the head.

"Shut up and give him a hand!" Aqua shouted as they all charged in towards Xehanort again but once more Xehanort repelled them all with another shockwave of dark energy. Sora however aimed his Keyblade at Xehanort before firing off Ragnarok Ultima while in midair. Xehanort quickly used Dark Reflega to block the attack sending out another shockwave shortly after impact. She had to use it again when she spotted Terra prepping his Ultima Cannon and Aqua about to use Rainbow Shower. Ven fired up Multi Vortex as Roxas immediately used Thirteenth Strike, creating the thirteen light made clones of Oblivion.

"ENOUGH!" Xehanort shouted casting another new spell, Dark Thundaga, striking all seven warriors before they could get off their attacks, and stunning them for a moment.

"You have now officially, worn out my patience!" Xehanort declared as she started glowing with dark energy once again but this time she became enshrouded by a large cloud of darkness which grew bigger and bigger, moving out away from the platform slightly. Suddenly the platform itself began to break apart at the points where the fragmented world pieces met, and spread out, separating some of the warriors. Suddenly the clouds cleared away, revealing Xehanort floating in midair but attached to a massive creature that looked like a hybrid between the World of Chaos and Marluxia's final form. Xehanort was attached to it on top and in the rear of the massive creature.

"Now then warriors of the light! Your end and the end of the light, comes NOW!" Xehanort declared before the giant head on the front of the creature opened its mouth, causing an orb of energy to appear and start growing in size.

"WATCH IT!" Terra shouted as he leapt towards a platform fragment closer to Xehanort just as the beam fired, and nearly hit one of the platforms but fortunately missed.

"That was lucky!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Xehanort must still be trying to master control of the X-Blade! That's giving us an advantage!" Aqua replied as she and Roxas both ran and leapt for another closer platform fragment. Sora was the first to reach the closest fragment and proceeded to leap up and onto the giant creature, his Keyblade ready.

"Be gone!" Xehanort ordered as a large heartless shaped like Sora appeared holding a fake Keyblade in its hands. Sora quickly leapt over it and started battling with the Heartless Sora. He quickly cast Thundaga, Blizzaga, and Firaga, before casting Reflega just in time to counter an attack from the Heartless Sora, the end result was the Destiny Blitz Command Style. He then started double-casting Magnega on the Heartless, pinning it down. He then started unleashing a series of fast yet brutal attacks on his Heartless counterpart until suddenly the liquid like black substance appeared on his arms and Keyblade, entering the Light of the Night command style. He then began to attack the heartless with his feral like claws, vanquishing it before turning back to Xehanort.

"I must say that is impressive. A pity it won't do you any GOOD!" Xehanort shouted before a free floating guardian rose from the creature and quickly attempted to smash Sora between its hands, but Sora was faster and managed to slide underneath it and deliver a ferocious slash across its back with both his Keyblade and claws. The guardian howled in fury before turning to attack again but this time it was obliterated by a beam of light piercing through its chest. It dissolved, revealing Roxas standing behind it.

"Let's do this, Sora!" Roxas said as he and Sora turned towards Xehanort.

"FOOLS!" Xehanort shouted as she took a swing with the X-Blade, nearly knocking them off the creature had they not quickly blocked the blow together.

"That will do you no good!" Xehanort taunted as the X-Blade started glowing with dark magic again, Sora and Roxas both feeling the strain of trying to shove back against the X-Blade steadily increasing.

"XEHANORT!" Terra shouted as he leapt into the fray, Keyblade reared back for an attack. Xehanort roared in anger before another guardian appeared flying at Terra who effortlessly cut through it and continued flying towards Xehanort. Xehanort managed to shove away Roxas and Sora in time to block Terra's attack.

"You are starting to annoy me Master Terra!" Xehanort growled as she reared back her fist, allowing it to glow with dark energy but Terra caught the fist with his hand, causing the spell to detonate right next to Xehanort's head but launch Terra away.

"KAIRI!" Sora exclaimed in fear as he saw a cloud of dark smoke appear around where Xehanort was a moment ago. Both luckily and unluckily, they saw the X-Blade swing around in the clouds, scattering them and revealing an unscathed yet very angry Xehanort.

"That does it!" She snarled as she started glowing with dark energy once more. Suddenly Sora remembered something from the Road of Remembrance. Something Kairi's Grandmother told him.

"_Please tell Kairi how you feel the next time you see her. It will change the outcome of the future when you do."_ Kairi's Grandmother had said to him. He then knew in his heart, what he had to do to bring Kairi back and put her in control of her body.

"KAIRI! LISTEN TO ME!" Sora begged as he ran towards her, his helmet vanishing, and stopping as Xehanort glared at him with an angry snarl.

"I know you can hear me! Just listen! Kairi for a long time now I-!" "LOOK OUT!" Aqua shouted as she leapt in to block a blow from a giant black tendril of darkness.

"For a long time now! I've been wrestling with a feeling inside my heart! Something I've known for a long time but didn't know how-…" "SORA, LOOK OUT!" Mickey exclaimed using Reflega to block another tendril of darkness from striking him.

"But I didn't know how to say it to you! I've tried so many times to try and say this to you Kairi!" Sora shouted as Terra and Roxas leapt in to deflect more tendrils.

"What is he doing?" Terra asked confused.

"Trust me! I know what he's doing! Just keep him from falling off!" Aqua replied.

"KAIRI!" Sora shouted as he leapt towards Xehanort, who was getting angrier and angrier. There was nothing but time and distance between the two of them now as the others kept the tendrils of darkness at bay. Sora started walking towards her but Xehanort started firing off shockwaves of dark energy but Sora stood firm, fighting against the force of the blasts to continue his approach.

"GO SORA GO!" Aqua cheered

"I've been wrestling with my feelings about…about YOU! You can see all of this destruction! You can feel all the pain! But you still don't know what I feel in my HEART!" Sora shouted as he continued his approach. He was finally right in front of Xehanort.

"DIE!" Xehanort roared as he raised the X-Blade.

"SORA, WATCH OUT!" Riku shouted as Xehanort swung the X-Blade down towards Sora who didn't even react or flinch, instead staring straight into Kairi's eyes. Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they saw the X-Blade freeze in midair less than an inch from Sora's head. Xehanort gritted her teeth and started straining to try and force the blade down on Sora but was unable to do so. Sora then did the unexpected, he quickly lunged forward, grabbing Xehanort by the shoulders and delivering a kiss right on the lips, causing Xehanort's eyes to widen in shock. They then saw his eyes start to rapidly start shifting between the evil yellow and the crystal blue and her hair started wildly changing between the white and red. The giant heartless creature started shaking violently and the platforms below started reforming into the single platform.

"JUMP!" Aqua shouted as everyone but Sora turned. Aqua watched as they all leapt back down to the platform, but then turned to see her apprentice still lip locked with Xehanort.

"Way to go Sora." Aqua said with a smile before she quickly leapt down and joined the others. They looked up to see the massive heartless start to glow with an aura of black and white. It roared in pain before it suddenly disintegrated and Sora was thrown down to the ground. Hovering in the air was Xehanort as he attempted to regain control of Kairi's body. Finally the changes stopped and mostly reverted back to Xehanort as she glared at Sora before roaring in anger and flying straight at Sora, X-Blade raised. Sora quickly leapt back and blocked the blow, now in a one on one duel with Xehanort. Aqua attempted to intervene when Riku and Terra held her back by the shoulders.

"What are you doing? Sora needs our help!" Aqua exclaimed as Terra shook his head and his helmet disappeared.

"No, wait a second Aqua! This is the moment we've been waiting for! With Xehanort focused on Sora, we can work together to do the one thing that will destroy Xehanort for sure!" Terra replied, as Ven's helmet disappeared as well.

"It may sound crazy but it'll work!" Ven added.

"What are you talking abou-…" Aqua asked before she noticed what Roxas, Mickey, and Riku were looking at. She looked up and her eyes widened as she realized their plan, their one hope of destroying Xehanort, and restoring Kairi and the Worlds at the same time.

The Door to Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

**End Chapter 40…**


	41. Kingdom Hearts Part 2

Sora and Xehanort were dueling each other, Sora defending more than attacking as Xehanort attacked him with only the X-Blade in an insane rage.

"You will NOT hinder me anymore WHELP!" Xehanort screamed in anger as Sora continued blocking his attacks.

"Call me what you want! Nothing is going to change the way I feel about Kairi! Not even YOU!" Sora replied as he shoved Xehanort back. Xehanort merely lunged at Sora once again, X-Blade raised but Sora blocked once more. Xehanort then noticed out of the corner of his eye, the other Keyblade wielders lining up and raising their Keyblades towards the Door to Kingdom Hearts and his eyes widened.

"NO!" Xehanort roared as he leapt at Aqua who quickly turned to block the blow but was knocked off the platform.

"AQUA!" Ven and Terra shouted but fortunately she managed to hook the tooth of her Keyblade to the edge of the platform.

"XEHANORT!" Sora shouted as he aimed his Keyblade at her. Xehanort turned and lunged at Sora again before Sora could fire off the Shoot Lock. Meanwhile Terra and Roxas quickly dropped to the ground, extending Oblivion and Terra's Keyblade towards Aqua.

"Grab on!" Roxas shouted as Aqua quickly grabbed Oblivion. Riku and Mickey quickly grabbed Roxas by the waist, pulling on him. Aqua then put her foot on the tooth of Terra's Keyblade while Ven pulled on Terra's waist and they all pulled Aqua back onto the platform.

"Kairi! I know you're in there! I know you feel the same way about me as I do about you!" Sora shouted at Xehanort who twitched slightly before continuing her assault.

"Come on, we've got to open this door!" Aqua said as she turned towards Sora.

"COME ON SORA! HOLD HER STILL!" Aqua shouted as Sora knew just what to do.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted as he flew in again their Keyblades pressed against each other's and their faces right in front of each other. Sora then leaned forward slightly and whispered the one thing Kairi needed to hear, the one thing that would weaken Xehanort, the one thing she had longed to hear for a long time.

"Kairi…I love you." Sora whispered. He then pulled back slightly to see Xehanort looking at him with shock and anger. Suddenly he started convulsing roaring in frustration. She started floating into the air, the changes between Xehanort and Kairi switching like mad as she held her hands to her head in an effort to once again subjugate Kairi's body.

"Xehanort!" Riku shouted up to the struggling dark lord who turned to glare at him while still struggling.

"You may think you're so powerful-?" Mickey shouted up to him.

"-But you didn't count on one thing!" Roxas shouted.

"You never counted on the power of love!" Aqua added.

"Of friendship!" Ven added.

"Of Loyalty!" Terra added.

"And of the heart!" Sora finished.

"Xehanort, you want the power of Kingdom Hearts-?" Terra asked as they all turned towards the Door to Kingdom Hearts and raised their Keyblades. Beneath their feet large glowing emblems appeared, matching the symbols on their Keychains. A crown beneath Sora, the Mark of Mastery beneath Aqua, Ven, and Terra, Mickey's Royal symbol beneath Mickey, the Nobody symbol beneath Roxas, and the Heartless symbol beneath Riku.

"-Well now YOU'VE GOT **IT!**" They all said in unison as the circles of light formed around the tips of their Keyblades before shooting forward, joining into one massive pure white beam of light, and streaking towards the Door to Kingdom Hearts.

"NOOOOOO!" Xehanort shouted, still trying to regain control of Kairi as the beam vanished and the door started to slowly swing open, emitting the purest most radiant light the worlds had ever seen. Almost instantly bolts of lightning started crackling all over Xehanort along with a massive cloudy black aura that formed around her as he screamed in agony and rage, convulsing violently. Finally they could see a semi-transparent vision of Master Xehanort appear over Kairi. The X-Blade started to crack, the crack spreading and branching to the entire blade.

"_AuuuuUUAAHHHHH! OOH! EGH! AUGH AHHHHHHHH! YOU WRETCHED BRATS! NGH! WHAT IS THIS?"_ Master Xehanort's visage asked angrily as he continued convulsing violently. Finally Kairi dropped free from the cloud, fully restored just as the X-Blade shattered into millions of pieces.

"We've ended your nightmare! FOR GOOD!" Sora shouted up at him. Xehanort then threw back his head in one final roar of anguished fury before his heart exploded in a torrent of black magic. Everyone did their best to hold onto where they were standing as the remnants of the dark lord surged past them, threatening to knock them all off the platform. They quickly hurried to get towards the center when finally the winds changed direction, pulling them all towards the center before once again exploding outward but for the last time, knocking them into the corners of the platform. Xehanort's evil had been ended for the final time.

"We did it! WE DID IT!" Terra exclaimed.

"It's not over yet! LOOK!" Aqua exclaimed, pointing towards the door where billions of Heartless awaited. Fortunately there was now a pathway leading to it.

"CLOSE IT FAST!" Sora shouted as they ran towards the door quickly. They each quickly ganged up on the doors, closing them in record time before leaping back and aiming their Keyblades at it once more, firing the sealing beams of light towards the other, creating another single large beam of light that forever locked the doors to Kingdom Hearts.

"That was a close one." Riku said as everyone caught their breath. It was now deathly silent in the world they were in. Riku then started to chuckle. Everyone looked at him curiously. Then Terra started chuckling, then Ven, then Mickey, then Roxas. Finally everyone was laughing as realization swept in.

"We did it! WE DEFEATED XEHANORT!" Aqua exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! Who's the best?" Ven asked.

"We are!" Terra replied, bumping knuckles with his best friend.

"Who's the best?" Riku asked.

"WE ARE!" Roxas and Mickey replied in unison. They then noticed Roxas was starting to glow with a white aura and turn semi-transparent.

"Roxas! You're…you're fading!" Aqua exclaimed as Sora walked up to him. Sora was glowing with the same glow.

"No, he's not fading. We're becoming one again." Sora replied.

"Xehanort was the reason I was ripped free from Sora in the first place, so now that he's gone, there's nothing else keeping me here." Roxas said with a smile.

"It's been an honor knowing you Roxas." Terra said with a smile.

"Hey, don't act like I'm dying or something. Whenever you see Sora, you see me. Because he's where I belong. We are of one heart." Roxas said before turning to Sora.

"It's been nice having you around Roxas. But what will I tell Axel when he learns you're gone again?" Sora asked as Roxas chuckled.

"The truth. He'll understand. But hey, look sharp." Roxas said with a smile before extending a hand. Sora grasped a hold of it and both closed their eyes before Roxas faded away, returning to Sora's heart.

"Sora?" they heard a voice creak. They all turned to see Kairi, lying on the beach fragment of the Destiny Islands, moving very slowly.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he hurried over to her. He dropped to his knees in a skid before holding her up in his arms.

"Sora." Kairi said as she opened a pair of tired eyes.

"I'm here Kairi, I'm here." Sora said with a relieved smile. Suddenly she grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him into a deep and loving kiss.

"(Ahem) Avert your eyes people. Let's give them some privacy." Riku said stepping in and shooing the others away, using his Keyblade as emphasis. Finally Sora and Kairi parted both staring into each other's eyes.

"Kairi, that was…" Sora said, too stunned to finish the sentence.

"You meant it Sora…you meant what you said back there." Kairi said with a tired smile.

"Of course I did. I've been trying to find a way to tell you for so long, I just couldn't work up the nerve to tell you until now." Sora said as Kairi smiled and closed her eyes.

"I love you too Sora." She said as she started drifting off to sleep.

"Huh? Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.

"Relax, she's just exhausted. She's been through a lot in the past few hours." Riku said as he knelt down next to him.

"I know. But, you know, I feel strange." Sora said as Riku arched an eyebrow.

"How strange? If you need to hurl just do it over the edge of the-…" "No it's a good strange." Sora interrupted.

"Like what?" Riku asked.

"I feel…complete." Sora said with a smile. Suddenly they felt the ground quake, rousing Kairi from her sleep.

"What's happening?" Aqua asked as she, Terra, and Ven stood on the fragment from the Land of Departure.

"The worlds are restoring themselves!" Ven answered. The shaking was so violent that it knocked Sora onto his back, off the piece from the Destiny Islands while Riku fell forward onto it. Mickey proceeded to tumble over and fall onto the Disney Castle fragment. Suddenly the fragment of the Destiny Islands broke off. Sora leapt to his feet and saw the island fragment moving slowly away.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, reaching for him and grasping his hand.

"I know where the islands are and how to get there! I'll come back to you! I promise!" Sora exclaimed.

"I know you will!" Kairi replied as their hands separated, watching as they drifted away from each other. (Music Cue: Simple & Clean – Utada Hikaru)

_"When you walk away_  
_You don't hear me say please_  
_Oh baby, don't go_  
_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_  
_It's hard to let it go."_

"SORA! OVER HERE!" Aqua shouted. Sora turned and saw the fragment from the Land of Departure was still in place. He saw the fragment from Twilight Town break off and that was all it took for him to run towards Aqua, Terra, and Ven.

_"You're giving me too many things._  
_Lately, you're all I need._  
_You smiled at me and said,"_

Sora arrived with the other three just as the fragment broke off and started drifting through the blackness…

_"Don't get me wrong I love you_  
_but does that mean I have to meet your father?_  
_When we are older you'll understand_  
_what I meant when I said "No,_  
_I don't think life is quite that simple"_

They each watched in silence as the remaining fragments broke off and separated into a glowing blue ring of light…

_"When you walk away_  
_You don't hear me say please_  
_Oh baby, don't go_  
_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_  
_It's hard to let it go"_

They then gasped in awe as they saw billions of stars suddenly shoot into the black sky above, retaking their places in space…

_"The daily things_  
_that keep us all busy_  
_all confusing me that's when u came to me and said,"_

Sora turned and looked up at Aqua with a proud smile. Aqua looked back down at him with the same expression, putting her arm around his shoulder as they watched the stars continue to move…

_"Wish I could prove I love you_  
_but does that mean I have to walk on water?_  
_When we are older you'll understand_  
_it's enough when I say so,_  
_And maybe something's are that simple"_

They then saw a number of glowing gold specks of light start falling down around them. They then looked up to see the Land of Departure begin restoring itself to its original glory in a large wave of gold dust…

_"When you walk away_  
_You don't hear me say please_  
_Oh baby, don't go_  
_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_  
_It's hard to let it go"_

The three stood in awe as they watched the Land of Departure's rapid restoration…

_"Hold me_  
_whatever lies beyond this morning_  
_Is a little later on_  
_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_  
_nothing's like before"_

Terra, Ven, and Aqua smiled widely before they ran towards the front doors to their old home…

_"When you walk away_  
_You don't hear me say please_  
_Oh baby, don't go_  
_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_  
_It's hard to let it go"_

Sora smiled up at the world before him but in his heart he knew there was another world waiting for him elsewhere…

_"Hold me_  
_whatever lies beyond this morning_  
_Is a little later on_  
_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_  
_nothing's like before."_

He turned and looked up at the sky, the sun now high in the sky as he removed Kairi's lucky charm from his pocket and looked at it quietly…

_"Hold me_  
_whatever lies beyond this morning_  
_Is a little later on_  
_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_  
_nothing's like before."_

He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Aqua smiling down at him before both looked up towards the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight.

* * *

**End Chapter 41.**

JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT KEEP READING!"

The song above was "Simple & Clean" by Utada Hikaru, which I do not own. I used the song to recreate the ending scene of Kingdom Hearts 1, where the worlds were restored.


	42. Light

An armored Terra landed flat on his back. He had just been soundly beaten once again in a sparring match. But he didn't really care. They were in the sparring area of the Land of Departure.

"You're doing really great Terra! Keep at it!" Aqua called from the sidelines as Terra leapt onto his feet.

"Alright, let's see how you handle this!" Terra exclaimed as he used the Ultima Cannon Shoot Lock to fire a powerful yet blinding shot of light. Once the light faded he noticed a severe lack of his opponent.

"Huh? Where did he-?" Terra asked before he heard someone clear their throat behind him and felt the tip of a Keyblade pressed to the back of his head.

"Alright, you win." Terra said as he dismissed his armor and turned to face his opponent. It was Sora, clad in his armor.

"Good match Terra. You really are good." Sora said as Terra crossed his arms with a smile.

"High praise-…" Terra said as Sora dismissed his armor, revealing that he was now wearing a white haori with aqua colored lining, "…-especially coming from a master."

"Quite so." Aqua said as she and Ven approached from the sidelines.

"But Sora's the better warrior." Terra said humbly.

"I learned from the best." Sora said, earning a proud smile from Aqua.

"Well she's the only master with seniority around here." Ven said as a mischievous smirk swept Terra's face.

"Which explains the old lady smell that I've caught around here lately." Terra said fanning his hand across his face, earning a death glare from Aqua. Sora and Ven had to turn away with their mouths covered as they restrained their laughter.

"I see someone wants to wait another year for his Masters Qualification Exam." Aqua replied with a scowl.

"Eh, I'm not worried. Sora here would pass me." Terra said as Aqua glanced at Sora then back at Terra.

"I'm actually I can't. Technically Aqua's considered your master, not me." Sora said with a shrug as Terra paled and a smug grin swept Aqua's face.

"On second thought, I'd like to resend my previous statement." Terra said sheepishly.

"Dually noted." Aqua said, crossing her arms. They then noticed Ven looking up at the castle.

"You know it's sure nice to have our old home back to the way it was." Ven said as Terra scratched the back of his head.

"I know what you mean. I was not looking forward to having to rebuild it. Thankfully Xehanort finished what he started with it and consumed the rest of it. Now that the worlds are restored, they were fully restored." Terra said.

"Not completely. There are still a few things missing." Aqua said, summoning her Keyblade and holding it in both hands. She hadn't changed it back from "Mark of Mastery."

"Yeah. But at least we have someone just as good to take his place." Ven said, looking up at Aqua who smiled and blushed simultaneously.

"And someone new to join us." Terra said, turning towards Sora who glanced away guiltily.

"Well, about that…" Sora said, causing everyone to turn back towards him.

"You're going to go back to the islands, aren't you?" Aqua asked with an understanding smile as Sora nodded.

"It's my home. It's where I belong. Besides, Riku and Kairi need someone to show them how to master the Keyblade. I promised Riku that I'd teach him everything I've learned. It would only make sense to teach Kairi too." Sora explained. The three Keyblade Warriors looked at each other with understanding smiles before turning back to Sora.

"We know. We knew this was eventually going to happen." Aqua said.

"We kinda hoped you would stick around for a while, which you did." Ven said.

"But we understand. You belong with your friends on the islands. You've spent long enough away from your home, and so have we." Terra added.

"We just hope that you come back to visit us occasionally." Aqua said as Sora smiled and nodded.

"You know I will. I figure that all of the Mastery Qualification Exams should be held here, both mine, and yours." Sora said as Aqua smiled.

"We'll be looking forward to it." Aqua replied as Sora stuck his hands in his pockets with a smile. He then paused and pulled out the Paopu fruit from Disney Town, still in perfect condition.

"Wow, how long have you had that with you?" Terra asked.

"Paopu fruit never goes bad. It just goes to show that even the fruit's own nature represents an unbreakable…and unending bond." Aqua replied as she pulled out her lucky charm. Terra and Ven pulled out their own charms as well.

"I guess these are actual lucky charms after all." Ven said as Aqua and Terra nodded in agreement. Sora looked up them and then at their charms curiously. He then looked at the Paopu fruit as an idea came to mind.

"Wait, Master, there's still something you can still teach me." Sora said, catching Aqua's attention. She looked at him confused for a moment before realizing what he had in mind. A smile swept across her face as she nodded.

**…**

It was a little while after dawn in the Land of Departure, as Sora, followed by Aqua, Terra, and Ven followed him out into the courtyard.

"Do you really have to leave now? Can't you stay a little longer?" Ven asked as Terra put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax Ven; he's not going away forever." Terra said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I know." Ven replied with a sigh.

"You've been a part of him for ten years, it's only natural you feel connected to him." Terra said.

"So then. See you guys around?" Sora asked as he turned towards them.

"Of course." "Definitely." "You know it." The three said at the same time. Sora then walked up to Terra.

"Sora, I owe you my life. You saved me from years of imprisonment from within my heart. Were it not for you, I wouldn't be here." Terra said as he and Sora shook hands firmly.

"Not at all. I'd do it all again if I had to." Sora replied. He then turned to Ven.

"You kept my heart safe for ten years, Sora. Throughout trials, tribulations, and all other manner of hardships you've faced. Like Terra, I owe you my life as well." Ven said as Sora smiled and they hugged like brothers.

"You'd do the same for me if I were in your shoes." Sora said as Ven smiled.

"You know it." He said as they broke the embrace before Sora finally turned to Aqua.

"Well Sora…this is it. The end of our long adventure together. It's been…it's been a blast, sometimes literally but…well you get what I mean." Aqua said as she knelt down to his level.

"I owe a lot to you Aqua. You've taught me more about the Keyblade in a matter of days than I've learned in a whole year on my own. I don't know what else to say but…thank you, from the bottom of my heart." Sora said as Aqua shed a tear and they embraced in a hug, Aqua even giving him a peck on the cheek. Finally they separated and Sora turned and walked towards the center of the courtyard. He then summoned his Keyblade before transforming it into his Keyblade Rider. He then turned to the others with one of his grins.

"Hey, you will be sure to come and visit the islands some time, you know, like for a vacation, right?" Sora asked as the three nodded.

"Well duh, who wouldn't want to go spend some time at the beach?" Ven asked.

"Depends on the beach actually. But the beaches of the Destiny Islands, definitely." Terra said with a smile.

"We wouldn't miss visiting you for the worlds." Aqua said. Sora smiled back before pressing his hand to his armor piece, summoning his armor and then jumping onto the Keyblade Rider. He then gave a two fingered salute to the others as they waved farewell before he streaked off into the stars, bound for home.

"Well…there he goes." Terra said with a heavy sigh.

"Back to where he belongs." Ven added as Terra noticed Aqua standing and rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Something up, Aqua?" Terra asked curiously before Aqua smiled and replied…

"You know something guys…after all this foolishness with Xehanort, I'd say we're ten years overdue for a vacation."

* * *

**On the Destiny Islands…**

Kairi and Riku both sat on the sideways tree, watching the stars as they started appearing in the sky. Serah, Snow, Hope, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Vaan, and Penelo then approached from behind.

"Any sign of him yet?" Snow asked.

"None yet. But I gotta admit, the stars are sure nicer than they were before." Riku replied.

"Sora will come home. I know he will." Hope said.

"Do you think as a Keyblade Master, he's allowed to preside over wedding ceremonies?" Serah asked, causing Snow to face palm.

"Oh geez Serah, give the kid a break." Snow said with a laugh.

"Hey, what's that?" Tidus asked as they saw a lone shooting star flying in through the world barrier. Kairi immediately leapt to her feet as a huge smile appeared on her face.

"It's him! IT'S SORA!" Kairi exclaimed as they ran for the beach. Sora flew in and stopped over the beach, dismissing the Keyblade Rider and landing on the soft sand below before dismissing his armor, revealing the haori.

"Sora!" Riku shouted as the mob headed towards him but luckily stopped a fair distance away as Kairi broke free from them and ran towards Sora, crashing into him with a kiss.

"Ah, romance at last." Selphie said with a sniffle. Wakka proceeded to hand her a Kleenex. Finally Sora and Kairi separated.

"Kairi, I'm back." Sora said with a grin as he pulled out Kairi's lucky charm, handing it to her. She looked down at it and then smiled sweetly at him.

"You're home." She replied, grabbing a hold of his hand and pulling him back into another kiss. She then felt something was off about her charm, almost as if the back of it had popped off. She pulled back for a moment and looked at the charm curiously before she noticed that the charm wasn't broken at all, there was another charm behind it, a pink one, resembling the ones Aqua had made for herself, Ven, and Terra.

"Sora, is this-?" Kairi asked as she held up the new charm.

"A new lucky charm? Yeah. Hey Riku, catch!" Sora shouted as he tossed a white one to Riku who caught it.

"I get one too?" Riku asked as he looked the charm over.

"All three of us do." Sora said as he pulled out a red one for himself. Riku then sniffed the charm.

"It smells like…Paopu fruit." Riku said with a curious expression.

"They're made of Paopu fruit skin. They each represent an unbreakable bond, like the Paopu fruit that they're made of." Sora replied.

"It was very sweet of Aqua to make these for us." Kairi said as Sora blushed.

"Well, actually. Aqua didn't make them. She taught me how to make them." Sora said as Riku and Kairi looked at him curiously.

"You made these?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Sora asked confused. Riku then chuckled.

"Oye, that Aqua is such a girl sometimes." Riku said as he looked at his charm.

"Hey, whaddya mean, 'sometimes?" a voice said. They all turned to see Aqua, Terra, and Ven dismissing their Keyblade Riders. Their armor was still active.

"What are you guys doing here? Did I forget something?" Sora asked as their helmets disappeared.

"No, but you did say to drop by at least for a vacation, so we figured, why not now?" Aqua said, dismissing their armor.

"Alright!" Sora exclaimed.

"Nice place you've got here Sora. Looks like a real paradise." Terra said as he glanced around.

"Hey, is it my imagination or does that guy look like the white haired dude that brought those nobody fellas and the heartless?" Vaan asked as Riku scowled.

"Let's not bring that up around him. I'll explain later." Riku replied.

"Hey guys! What are we waiting for? We just won a huge victory! Xehanort's dead, Sora's a master, the worlds have been saved! I say that's grounds for a pa-a-a-a-rt-ay!" Tidus declared as the crowd erupted into cheers.

**…**

Soon everyone had changed into their swim gear and there was an awesome beach party going on. Lightning had even, albeit begrudgingly, come along. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were there even. Then it happened, Vaan, Penelo, Tidus, and Wakka, started playing their own instrumental rendition of the Unofficial Destiny Islands Anthem (Music Cue: Down in New Orleans (Finale) From the Princess and the Frog). Suddenly Sora and Aqua turned to each other, summoned their Keyblades and entered a mock fight as they sang…

_"In that great void, there's a city_  
_Way down on the water."_

Then Sora, Riku, Terra, and Ven sang…

_"Where the women are very pretty…"_

And Aqua and Kairi replied…

_"…And all the men deliver!"_

Then Aqua and Kairi caught Sora showing Ven the Aqua blackmail photos from Eraqus and instantly started chasing them as the two boys sang in unison…

_"We got music_  
_it's always playin'…"_

They ran past Riku and Terra who had their arms crossed and amused smirks on their faces as they sang…

_"Start in the day time, go all through the night."_

Then Kairi and Aqua sang in unison as they finally caught the two boys, sinister grins on their faces…

_"And when you hear that music playin'…"_

Before Riku and Terra joined them, and the six sang…

_"Hear what we're saying and make ya feel alright!"_

Sora and Ven found themselves buried to their necks in sand as their respective girlfriends sat next to them smugly. Riku and Terra looked at each other and smirked as Terra summoned his Keyblade and with one mighty swing towards the ground, released Sora and Ven by launching them into the air via underground rocks. The two boys landed in their respective girlfriends arms, apologetic looks on both the boy's faces. Ven and Aqua then sang together…

_"Grab somebody…"_

Riku and Terra then joined in, bumping knuckles as they sang…

_"…Come on down…"_

Then Sora and Kairi sang as Kairi looked lovingly into Sora's eyes…

_"…Bring your paintbrush, we're painting the town!"_

Then they all sang in unison as they moved into a single file row, noticing as the Destiny Island's Keyhole appeared overhead…

_"There's some sweetness going around."_

They then summoned their Keyblades and slowly raised them towards the keyhole as they sang in unison…

_"Dreams do come true in Des-ti-ny-y!"_

* * *

**The End.**

Welp, I hope you've enjoyed it, because I sure have. Hope you peruse my work again sometime. If you want to keep up to date on my current projects and find out about some future ones, feel free to visit my profile.

So in the immortal words of Mickey Mouse…

See ya real soon.


End file.
